Launched four years ago, the Garmin Swim 2 was the brand’s second attempt at a dedicated swimming watch. As well as a sleeker, more contemporary design and a color screen, it added cycling, running and cardio tracking—making it an attractive option for swimmers looking to dabble in cross-training without investing in a triathlon watch.

Its specs made it look like it could challenge its significantly more expensive rivals. As well as recording and logging swimming metrics in the pool or open water (via GPS), it tracked general fitness such as steps and calories burned like the best of them, while offering features (phone notifications, calendar reminders) common on other smartwatches.

But, years on from its release, does it still hold its own among the best swimming watches or has it been knocked into the slow lane by newer, flashier alternatives?

Garmin Swim 2: Price And Availability

The Garmin Swim 2 was released in October 2019 and costs $249 in the US and £219.99 in the UK. The next cheapest smartwatch in Garmin’s range that features similar pool and open-water swimming capabilities is the Instinct 2 ($299.99/£249.99), while its most affordable triathlon watch is the Garmin Forerunner 255 ($349.99/£299.99). The Coros Pace 3 and Polar Ignite 3 offer a multisport alternative for a similar price.

How I Tested This Watch

I’ve used the Garmin Swim 2 as my main watch for four weeks, which has included two 1,500-2,000m swims a week in a 50m lido and 25m indoor pool. I also tested the Swim 2 in open water and put its workout functions through their paces while completing pool-based drills and training sessions. I have experience with some of the best triathlon watches, including the Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar, which I used alongside the Garmin Swim 2 to check its accuracy.

Set-Up And Design

The Swim 2 has a 1.04in glass color display enclosed in a robust plastic case with a silicone strap. While on the small side compared to other smartwatches and fitness trackers, its bright backlight makes the screen easy to see at a glance, and it’s also clear when used in the pool.

You navigate the watch using five buttons that are on the sides of its base. Each button performs a different function in general smartwatch mode and during an activity, and while it is quite intuitive, there are small labels on the screen to make its functionality that bit easier.

As with other Garmin watches and bike computers, setting up is straightforward. Out of the box, you’re prompted to download the Garmin Connect app (available on Google Play and the Apple App Store) and connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth. From here, it’s possible to set up preferences, such as Do Not Disturb timings (the hours when you won’t receive notifications on the watch), while Garmin Connect is also the place where you’ll be able to delve into activities and keep track of your general fitness metrics and sleep score.

Swimming Features

The Swim 2 is packed with all the swimming features you could possibly want. Distance, pace, stroke count, stroke type and SWOLF (score that measures your swimming efficiency) can be displayed on the watch mid-activity and analyzed post-swim, while the built-in heart rate monitor logs the intensity of effort and how hard you’re working.

In practice, the Swim 2 correctly analyzed the type and number of strokes when I was swimming lengths, but it wasn’t 100% accurate on distance and, therefore, pace. On several occasions when completing a general endurance-focused swim, it over-estimated the number of lengths I’d swum, slightly skewing the average and fastest paces in the process. While this is an issue I’ve encountered with the Garmin Forerunner 955, I expected closer to 100% accuracy from a dedicated swimming watch.

When completing drills or equipment-based sessions, the Swim 2 fared much better. After syncing a workout I’d created via the Garmin Connect app, the watch seamlessly took me through the steps during each stage and at no point cut an interval short. In open water, it appeared to log activities accurately via its built-in GPS (well, as accurately as the Garmin Forerunner 955), and the only issue I found was the drain this caused on the battery. When used for pool swims, the Swim 2 lasted around a week between charges, though open-water swims required more frequent charging.

Fitness Tracking And General Features

One of the biggest upgrades to the Swim 2 over its predecessor was the addition of running, cycling and cardio logging. In testing, it was fine for the basics, but fell short on the more advanced metrics that you’d get on a multi-sport watch, or even a newer smartwatch.

For running and cycling it tracked heart rate, distance and pace/speed in line with the Garmin Forerunner 955, but the inability to add a power meter as another sensor limits its multi-sport potential. Also, it doesn’t have a separate triathlon activity mode, which means you’d have to get creative with the watch if you wanted to use it for an event.

Its general features are passable compared with other, newer models. Smartphone syncing is limited to messages and calendar notifications (no Garmin Pay here), while its small screen makes it more of a pager than something you could read a full email on.

Is The Garmin Swim 2 Worth It?

The Garmin Swim 2 does what it’s designed to do well, will elevate your swimming training to new data-fueled heights, and has the benefit of the user-friendly Garmin Connect interface. 

At its price, the Swim 2 is an affordable option relative to the rest of Garmin’s range, particularly if you’re only after a way of tracking time in the pool or open water.

Unfortunately, its general fitness and smartwatch features haven’t aged well outside the water, and I’d want more from a modern smartwatch—particularly with cross-training on my workout agenda. You’ll get more for your money by plumping for the new Coros Pace 3 or Garmin Instinct 2.

Committing to a fitness goal in January isn’t always about killing it in the gym. If you’re looking for a new way to get active without pushing yourself to HIIT-induced burn-out and injury, there are few low-impact sports quite as effective as swimming.

And if signing up to an event to train for will help keep you motivated, you can’t do better than Swimathon, the world’s largest annual fundraising swim. In 2023, it will take place from May 12th to the 14th May at 450 pools in the UK. The format is simple: find your nearest participating pool, choose a date and pick your distance – 400m, 1.5km, 2.5km or 5km are the four standard options. 

There are many benefits of swimming – it’s a total-body workout that can leave you not just physically transformed but mentally recharged, too. But perhaps the best thing about it is that it’s accessible no matter your age, physical ability or fitness level.

One person who found taking to the water transformational is Louise West, a 61-year-old amateur swimmer who has been taking part in Swimathon since 2020. “I was recently diagnosed with osteoarthritis in both knees, and I had spinal surgery around 20 years ago,” says West. “I struggle with stiffness and pain on a daily basis, but swimming helps alleviate the symptoms. The training makes a tremendous difference to my mobility.”

“I can push myself in the pool in a way that I can’t on the land,” says West. “Swimming gives me so much confidence with my fitness and allows me to set goals and personal bests that keep me motivated with training, which I always struggled with before because of my various health issues.”

West started swimming as an adult six years ago and completed her first Swimathon in 2020, before pools closed because of COVID-19. “I was looking for a fitness goal to keep me motivated and spotted a Swimathon post on social media. Running a marathon isn’t possible for me with my joint issues, so discovering Swimathon kept me on track with regular fitness sessions. I finished my first event about two hours before the first coronavirus lockdown, but I’m back to compete again this year.”

While pool swimming is a low-impact activity, that’s not to say it’s easy. Moving through water uses nearly all the muscles in the body, including often under-worked areas of the arms, making it a killer upper-body workout. “I was a keen swimmer as a teenager, but I’d had a 35-year break before getting back into the pool,” says West. “I could do around 20 lengths when I first started, and I’m now doing that distance as a warm-up, before an hour’s personal training session. It’s addictive to track your progress with regular training.”

Any type of exercise can make us feel good, but simply being in the water can have its own restorative benefits too. A YouGov poll commissioned by Swim England found almost half a million adults with an existing mental health issue reduced their visits to their GP or therapist as a result of regular swimming.

“I’ve found that swimming is a great way to switch off and have some ‘me’ time,” says West. “I’ve lost a few friends to cancer, so raising money for Swimathon [which benefits Marie Curie and Cancer Research UK] has given me a personal motivation to keep going with my training. It’s an incredible feeling once you hit the finish line.”

For seasoned swimmers, Swimathon has two advanced challenges: the Triple 5K (a 5km swim every day of the event weekend) and the 30.9 (every Swimathon distance combined). “The first Swimathon, I completed a 5K distance. Last autumn, I did an ‘own distance’ swim, which was 20km over a month. I’m aiming for 30.5km this year, but my big goal is to swim 63km in 2024 – 1km for every year of my life.”

West trains around five times per week, which she says has been crucial for pushing her progress over the years. “I take a weekly Swim Fit class, group interval training in the pool. We build our endurance by doing swim sprint lengths with recovery periods. It’s a bit like a gym class but in water.

“As well as those group sessions, I have a personal training session and at least three other solo swimming sessions in the pool each week. Utilising these different types of training has given me structure and variety. Plus, the group element is a good motivator when you’re low on energy.”

“The other great thing is that all of my sessions are indoors in a heated pool, so I’m not training in the cold and rain. I really look forward to my sessions in the winter months, especially now that I’m not always putting the heating on at home.”

If you’re new to swimming, West says it’s a good idea to start small and build up your swimming at a pace that works for you. Even a 15-minute gentle breaststroke session can help build strength over time. “If you’re not confident in the water, sign up for an adult swim lesson,” she advises. Participating pool operators such as Better and Everyone Active offer adult swimming lessons nationwide.

In contrast to the limit-pushing strength and HIIT classes that are popular at gyms right now, swimming can feel like a less intimidating way to bring movement into your life. If you’re already a regular in the weights room or a keen sportsperson, its low-impact nature makes it an excellent choice for cross-training too. 

Community pools are also having a tough time making it through the energy crisis so making regular visits right now is invaluable to keeping local leisure centres going. “If you’re thinking of signing up to Swimathon, it’s not too late to start your training for this year’s event,” West adds. “Find a friend and sign up together.” It’ll keep you motivated to stay active long past the New Year training buzz. 

Swimathon is the world’s largest annual fundraising swim in support of Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie. This year Swimathon takes place at over 450 venues across the UK. Select your challenge and join at swimathon.org

Buying women’s swimwear comes with some challenges. Brands often focus their marketing on how women look in their swimsuits rather than on the technical details of how they perform in the water. While swimsuits can be picked up cheaply with your supermarket shopping, it’s worth spending time and money finding one that suits your body shape and swimming style. Swimwear that makes you feel good in and out of the pool is key—you should feel comfortable and supported when wearing it so you can perform better in the water.

The Best Swimsuits For Pool Swimming

The open-shoulder/racerback style of this suit gives you ultimate freedom for shoulder rotation when swimming front crawl, while the high neck ensures you don’t scoop water as you swim, causing drag. The zip front is ideal for getting the suit on and off with ease, and the high neck offers great chest support. The leg height is modest, but still enables freedom of movement. 

Made from durable Ecolast fabric, the suit is eco-friendly and hard-wearing. The material washes well and is quick-drying, as well as being ultra-resistant to chlorine. I loved pool swimming in this suit—I found it super-comfortable and there was no drag when pushing off the pool wall.

Ever evolving, researching, and listening to its customers, Deakin & Blue is always reviewing its designs and this X-Back suit is the result of that process. The soft, supportive fabric is ideal for serious swimmers who like to get their head down and swim as well as those who are seeking something for dipping or holidays. It feels lovely and light to swim in and I particularly like the open back and the scoop neck, which gives great freedom of movement while still offering bust support. 

Made from recycled ECONYL fibre, the fabric is highly resistant to chlorine, salt water and oils which means the suit is built to last, even if you swim in it several times a week. It comes in a range of colours and each design is available in three different sizing types (called Hepburn, Monroe and Hendricks) to suit your body shape, with sizes UK8-24 (US4-20) available in each.

There’s a common frustration among female swimmers, especially those who are tall or require larger sizes, with suits that aren’t long enough in the body. Usual Objections has solved this by offering three different lengths: petite, regular and long. You can visit its east London Studio to try the suits before you buy, or try dummy suits at home before ordering the pattern and style you want. 

The suits are well made, comfortable and supportive, and the fabrics are high-quality. You can choose between this scoop back design or a suit with thin straps that exposes more of your back, and there are a range of colourful designs as well as more neutral colours. This suit performed brilliantly in the water with great support across the bust and the soft stitching ensures no chafing. 

These are popular suits with outdoor swimmers and Batoko has recently extended its size range to be more inclusive. The fun, simple suits are fully lined and made from GRS-certified 100% recycled post-consumer plastic waste. The digitally printed designs are bright and colourful and don’t distort when stretched. 

I found the suit too short in the body, so it felt revealing around the bust and tight on the shoulders. In the water this eased, but the shoulder straps moved as I swam. Great for fun dips and holidays, rather than longer swim sessions.

I have longed for a Finisterre suit and now they come in a more inclusive size range, I was thrilled to give one a try. This suit is reversible, so you get two for the price of one. The fabric is light, soft and seriously comfortable. It is a simply made suit with no zips or ties, which minimises chafing but also means it is ideal for wearing on longer swims or under a wetsuit. 

The sporty racer-style back does enable greater movement, but the sizing up didn’t consider the difference in shape of a bigger swimmer, so a lot of body at the back was exposed. Finisterre is a B-Corp business, so you know you are buying quality with sustainability in mind. 

This might sound extreme, but if you can’t find anything you like, have you ever thought of making something yourself? Amanda Bowden, long-distance swimmer and seamstress, offers two-day courses at her home sewing school, both online and at various locations across the country. 

I don’t own a sewing machine, nor did I have any experience in making clothing, but after two days with Amanda I had completed a suit that fit my body better than any other suit I own. I got to choose the fabric, adapted the pattern for my body and the finished product holds up well in the water and is a joy to wear. 

You also get to go home with the pattern, skills and experience to make further suits. It was an incredibly fun experience and I got to meet other swimmers too.

What To Look For When Swimsuit Shopping

You want your swimwear to be snug but not tight. It should feel like a second skin, but not leave red marks on your skin when you take it off. If it’s too loose it will fight with the water causing drag and discomfort.

Whether you go for a high-cut or low-cut leg is mostly down to personal choice, but be aware that a high-cut leg offers greater freedom of movement in the water. Racerback styles are designed for greater flexibility and movement in the shoulders, which enables you to swim faster. Again, it’s a matter of personal preference, but it’s essential that the swimsuit is comfortable.

Higher necklines are generally a lot better for pool swimming, ensuring water doesn’t plunge down your cleavage as you push off, tugging the swimsuit down with it. Regardless of breast shape or size, your chest should be supported but not squashed by your swimsuit. If your breasts move too much it can cause chafing on the nipples and under the arms. Some brands like Deakin & Blue will adapt a suit with a pocket if you have had breast cancer and use a prosthetic. Padded swimwear is best avoided because the padding acts like a sponge and makes it harder to swim.

Many brands now offer fabrics made from recycled waste. These are not only better for the planet but often more chlorine-resistant too. Softer fabrics or trim will ensure less chafing. However, it’s best to save the frills and strings for the beach. When heading to the pool, decorative additions to a swimsuit just become sodden and increase drag. Details can rub and catch; you’re better off choosing a sleek design.

More About Swimming

• The benefits of swimming: how swimming can help you lose weight, get fitter and relax
• Two helpful swimming technique tips that will make you enjoy front crawl again
• Four swimming drills to enliven your time in the pool 

There is no one shoe that can truly claim to be the best running shoe, simply because every runner has their own individual needs and preferences. However, if there’s one shoe that’s had a better claim than most in recent years, it’s the Saucony Endorphin Speed, which has become a fixture in our best running shoes round-up as the ultimate all-rounder.

It’s a trainer with a nylon plate that offers almost as much speed as the best carbon plate running shoes, while also being comfortable enough to use for your regular training. The Endorphin Speed 1 and 2 did it all, and I was worried therefore that any updates to the third version of the shoe risked ruining that.

I needn’t have worried. The changes Saucony has made will make the Endorphin Speed 3 a better option for more runners, since it is now more stable. On the other hand, the wider fit won’t work perfectly for everyone as I found to my cost, and the rise in price is, of course, unwelcome.

Saucony Endorphin Speed 3: Price And Availability

The Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 is available in the UK now and costs £165, and will launch in the USA on 16th August where it will cost $170. The price has increased from the $160/£155 the Endorphin Speeds 1 and 2 cost. It’s billed as the training partner to the Endorphin Pro 3 carbon plate shoe, which costs $225/£210.

Design And Fit

The main changes Saucony has made to the Endorphin Speed 3 are to widen its base and add wings on either side of the S-shaped nylon plate in its midsole, both of which make the shoe more stable. 

There is also more foam in the midsole with the new shoe, which has a 36mm stack height at the heel – 0.5mm higher than on the Speed 2. The shoe has an 8mm drop, with a forefoot stack height of 28mm.

The foam in the midsole is Saucony’s PEBA-based PWRRUN PB, which is the same stuff that’s used on the carbon-plated Endorphin Pro line, though the latest version of that shoe has a higher stack that hits 39.5mm at the heel. The Speed 3 weighs 8.5oz/240g in my UK size 9, a small increase on the 8.1oz/231g of the Speed 2.

Central to the success of the Endorphin line is the Speedroll tech in the midsole, which is essentially a rocker that creates a smooth transition from heel to toe.

The mesh upper is lightweight and breathable, and the tongue and heel are lightly padded. The outsole is made from the same rubber as on past versions of the Speed, but it covers more surface area in an attempt to improve the shoe’s grip.

As a result of the wider base, the fit of the shoe is different from the first two Endorphin Speeds. I suspect this will be for the better for most people, but I have a narrow foot and struggled to get a secure lockdown with the Speed 3.

I had some rubbing on the heel on longer runs, even when I used a runner’s knot, and had the cinch the laces very tight to get a good hold in the midfoot. It’s the right length for me so I don’t think I could size down, but the more spacious fit is something to be aware of if you do have a narrow foot.

How I Tested This Shoe

I have run 70km in the Endorphin Speed 3, doing a variety of sessions to test out its versatility. I’ve done long workouts in it, plus some steady base runs and a very easy recovery run. I also clocked up around 550km in the Endorphin Speed 1 and used the 2 extensively as well.

Running Performance

The Endorphin Speeds 1 and 2 were essentially the same shoe, and it was a great shoe, so my fear with the Speed 3 was that the updates would negatively affect the ride in some way. This is fortunately not the case. The shoe is as smooth and impressive as ever, and the wider platform adds stability without taking away the zip in the midsole.

The fit has changed, though, and on any run over around 10 miles (16km) in length I did find the looser upper resulted in some rubbing on my heel. Nothing disastrous, but it would make the Speed 3 a shoe I was less likely to pull on every day.

It is only the fit that gives me pause, though, because the ride is still very versatile. I’ve used the Speed 3 for an easy early morning trudge, plenty of base miles at steady pace, and a long workout running four sets of 4km at 3min 40sec/km pace with 1km float recovery. It’s also light enough for short, sharp reps, and a great racing option if you want to avoid the sky-high prices of a carbon plate super-shoe.

Aside from the fit, the other minor qualm I have comes in comparison with the Endorphin Pro 3, which had a bigger stack height increase from 35.5mm to 39.5mm at the heel. As a result, I found the Pro 3 more comfortable than the Speed 3 on longer runs, which is the opposite of my experience with the first two generations.

Is The Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 Worth It?

Even at its inflated price the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 is worth it. It remains the best all-round running shoe available, with the most versatile ride. There is now a clear difference between the Speed and Pro in Saucony’s line-up – the Pro 3 is bouncier, softer and more of a true super-shoe – so there is a case for having both in your rotation. But if you are a one-shoe runner who still wants to excel on race day, the Speed 3 is the best in the business. Just be aware of that wider fit.

Swimmers are a varied bunch, which means there isn’t one best swimming watch that suits everyone—the right one for you will depend on what you want to monitor and why, as well as how much you want to spend. At the simplest level, a cheap waterproof fitness tracker should be able to count laps and maybe even recognize your stroke so you can log your time in the pool. 

If you’re looking to improve your technique, a SWOLF score can indicate if you’re becoming a more efficient swimmer. And if you take swimming seriously the best swimming watches will help you follow the steps of your workout in the pool. Triathletes will also appreciate being able to connect an external heart rate monitor so they can keep an eye on their training load.

Many of the best fitness trackers and best fitness smartwatches offer swim tracking, and we’ve tested almost all of them in the pool. These are the ones that impressed us.

The Best Swimming Watches

If you’re looking for the cheapest Garmin watch that can track both pool and open-water swimming, as well as set up workouts and drills to follow, it’s the Swim 2 you want.

The Swim 2 records core stats like distance, lengths and pace, counts your strokes and detects the stroke type, works out your SWOLF and will let you set up alerts based on time, distance and pace.

Data lives in Garmin’s Connect app and sessions can be easily exported to apps like Strava. There’s full access to Garmin’s Connect IQ storefront to add more apps and data fields to the watch, and it still offers features like run and cycling tracking and 24/7 fitness tracking to make it useful out of the pool too.

Read more in our Garmin Swim 2 review

Yes, the Apple Watch Series 9 is out now, but little has changed in terms of the swim-tracking support so, if swimming is all that matters to you, shop around for a deal on the Series 8 from a third-party retailer.

As with most smartwatches and sports watches the Series 8 relies on the onboard accelerometer motion sensors in the pool but, unlike others, Apple can record when you’re using a kickboard for swimming drills. It can recognise six different strokes, including butterfly and will also monitor when you take rests in between sets and provide stats like SWOLF to better gauge your stroke efficiency in the water. One advantage Apple has over rival smartwatches is that it works with third-party swimming apps, such as MySwimPro and Swim.com, just like certain Garmin and Suunto devices, so you can send planned swimming workouts to your watch to follow in the water.

Read more in our Apple Watch Series 8 review

For shallow-water swimmers on a tight budget, the Xiaomi Smart Band 7 ticks a lot of boxes. The 5ATM water-resistance rating allows the band to be submerged in water down to 50 meters, making it ideal for pool swimming, snorkeling or other shallow-water activities. There’s no built-in GPS but the band reliably tracks pool lengths, distance, calories, strokes and average stroke rate, while automatically recognizing and logging your main swimming style.

Lift your wrist to wake the 1.62in AMOLED high-resolution display for at-a-glance updates in the pool, or check out the full list of stats in the Mi Fitness app. We found the screen was sometimes unresponsive when the band got wet but, on the whole, it performed well considering the price.

Read more in our Xiaomi Smart Band 7 review

While our headline promised swimming watches, we had to make an exception for this one-of-a-kind swim tracker which keeps your wrists free. Its built-in accelerometer keeps tabs on all of the length and stroke stats you’d expect, then uses smart display technology to show the stats on one of the lenses, putting your real-time numbers in your eyeline.

You can choose to view up to three metrics and there are plenty to pick from, including number of lengths, distance, split time and pace. It can automatically track rests and be paired with Polar’s OH1 heart rate monitor for a hit of accurate heart rate data too. If you’re heading outdoors, the goggles can also sync with high-end Garmin devices and the Apple Watch, using the GPS tracking of the watches to display live distance and pace information in the goggles.

Data is stored in Form’s own app where you’ll find a much more detailed breakdown of swim time. That data can also be sent over to apps like Strava, Garmin Connect and TrainingPeaks. 

Form also has a useful library of structured workouts and training plans and lead you through the workouts in the water using the built-in display. It’s perfect if you struggle to know what to do in the pool.

Whether you track by laps or build interval workouts, these goggles do it accurately and give you 16 hours of battery life—plenty of tracking time before they need charging again.

Read more in our Form Smart Swim Goggles review

The Garmin Forerunner 965 essentially takes the features from Garmin’s Fenix watch and puts it into a smaller, more compact design. You’re getting the best of Garmin’s swim tracking—the same as on the Swim 2—on an AMOLED touchscreen.

The display is easy to read in the water, with multiple data screens to swipe through where you can view real-time stats, including lengths, distance covered, stroke count, SWOLF and critical swim speed. That last metric is Garmin’s attempt to work out the speed you can maintain before you tire. You can also choose to set up auto or manual rests, depending on how closely you monitor your breaks, with drill log support available for pool swims to record kick sets and one-handed swims.

Garmin lets you create and sync over workouts via its Connect app and gives you access to the Connect IQ Store via a separate app to download additional swimming apps built by Garmin and other developers to offer an even more comprehensive swim tracking experience. 

You can get identical similar swim features for less money, however, with the Garmin Forerunner 265 and Garmin Forerunner 955 offering the same swim features and multisport modes. You lose out on other features and battery life, which you can explore in Coach’s Garmin Forerunner 965 vs Garmin Forerunner 955 and Garmin Forerunner 965 vs Garmin Forerunner 265 comparisons.

Read more in our Garmin Forerunner 965 review

Polar calls the Ignite 3 a fitness watch, but it does a good imitation of a sports watch and can track pool swims and open-water swims. Unlike the Ignite 2, it now has a nicer AMOLED display to view your stats on as well. When you’re in the pool, it can identify swimming strokes and capture metrics including pace, distance, stroke rate and rest times. 

Away from the pool, it will capture pace and distance, and use the onboard GPS to map your swim routes. You can customize data screens in Polar’s Flow app to make sure you’re glancing down at the stats you care about. While it will track heart rate in the water I’m not convinced of its reliability, but Polar also make external heart rate monitors for swimming which will sync and match easily to the data recorded on your watch in the Polar app. Vibrant screen aside, it’s a sleek-looking sports watch that also offers features like recommended workouts and rich sleep monitoring to make sure you’re picking the right days to tackle a tough session in the water.

Read more in our Polar Ignite 3 review

Amazfit has an extensive collection of smartwatches but the T-Rex 2 is the one that’s impressed me the most in the water. It offers pool and open-water swimming modes, and tracks stroke type, average pace, laps, calories burned and your SWOLF score. As with other Amazfit watches, it can be linked to share data with Strava.

The T-Rex 2 is built in the mold of outdoor adventure watches like the Garmin Fenix and matches up to the Fenix line’s water-resistance rating. Its sharp and colorful AMOLED screen is also a bit of tech rarely seen at this price.

Read more in our Amazfit T-Rex 2 review

Most of Fitbit’s devices track your time in the pool, and if you’re looking for the one that offers the best experience, it’s the Versa 4. In large part that’s because Fitbit has brought back the physical button that was missing on the Versa 3, making it easier to interact with. In the pool it automatically captures swimming distance, number of lengths and pace.

Fitbit doesn’t provide much in the way of analysis of your performance, focusing instead on how your swimming has contributed to how active you’ve been during the day, so look elsewhere if you’re a stats junkie. Fitbit has also removed a lot of apps from its storefront, including Strava’s, and Fitbit will no longer sync a non-GPS activity like swims to Strava.

Read more in our Fitbit Versa 4 review

The Suunto Vertical is Suunto’s best multisports watch in a long time. That’s down to accurate dual-band GPS and stellar battery life, but it also does a decent job in the pool. It captures pace, distance, laps and it will record SWOLF scores. While the watch software isn’t as slick as some other sports watches, it offers a transflective display that’s easy to read in the water. The Suunto app includes more details and the device plays nice with apps like Strava, TrainingPeaks and Swim.com.

Read more in our Suunto Vertical review

The Coros Pace 3 might be Coros’s cheapest multisport watch, but packs the same swimming features as its more premium Apex 2 and Vertix 2S offerings. It has two separate swimming settings—pool swim and open water—and triathlon and multisport modes for those looking to transition to a multisport discipline. During testing in the pool, it didn’t miss a length (or add one in I hadn’t done), while its metrics matched, or were even more accurate than, those of the much more expensive Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar that I used as a benchmark.

Read more in our Coros Pace 3 review

Swimming Watch Buying Advice

The best swimming watches capture what you do in the pool and most will let you see data during your swim, including the distance you’ve covered, as well as being able to recognize when you’ve switched from freestyle to breaststroke.

All the devices mentioned above do a fine job of delivering reliable data, but they also offer various other features that can make them better suited to different swimming scenarios and conditions.

Here are the key things to consider when buying a waterproof fitness tracker.

Waterproof rating: Arguably the most important thing to look at is what level of waterproofing the fitness tracker offers. Ideally, you want to see something with a 5ATM rating, which means it can be safely submerged in water up to 50 meters. That should cover most swimming scenarios indoors and outdoors. Some trackers offer 10ATM ratings, letting you plunge it up to 100 meters in depth—it’s overkill for normal swimming but useful if you want to wear it during high-speed water sports.

Pool or open-water swimming (or both): Don’t spend more than you need if you only plan to use the tracker in your local pool. Often you’ll spend more for open-water swimming support, though this is starting to appear on cheaper options. Pool swim modes use accelerometer motion sensors and some fancy algorithms to estimate the distance you cover. Heading outdoors requires GPS and an even fancier algorithm to track your location since your watch won’t be able to maintain a satellite signal when it’s underwater—it has to rely on a fleeting connection when you raise your wrist out of the water.

Screen type: Trying to see a screen in bright outdoor light is one thing, but being able to quickly review real-time stats in the water is a challenge that some trackers manage better than others. Some trackers will let you invert colors to improve visibility or crank up screen brightness if you’re struggling to take in the data while you’re on the move.

Syncing to other apps: All trackers have dedicated apps where your data will be sent after your swim. Many also offer the option to link the tracker to other swim training apps and platforms where you can tap into additional training features and they can often make it easier to analyze your sessions too.

Battery life: It’s unlikely you’ll be able to outlast a full battery in the pool, but if you’re going to spend a lot of time swimming outdoors where you’ll need to use the GPS, a longer life may be valuable.

Underwater heart rate: Heart rate is a good measure of effort but while all swimming watches will read your pulse, don’t expect especially accurate data. That’s down to the technological limitations of wrist-based heart rate monitors. If you care about heart rate, choose a tracker that can connect to a waterproof chest strap heart rate monitor.

More Swimming Gear

• Kit yourself out with the best swimming goggles.
• Looking for a waterproof chest strap? You’ll find one in our round-up of the best heart rate monitors.
• Swim to a soundtrack by buying one of the best swimming headphones. 

Swimming is having something of a moment and it’s easy to see why: Low-impact, accessible and packed with benefits, swimming is tough to beat as a cardiovascular exercise.

Before you take the plunge on flashy accessories like the best swimming headphones or best swimming trackers, though, it’s important to equip yourself with some essential gear. As well as choosing a set of the best swimming shorts or one of the best swimsuits, you’ll want to make sure that you have a good pair of swimming goggles to hand. Not only will they help to keep the chlorine, dirt or salt out of your eyes (depending on where you’re swimming), but they’ll enable you to see—keeping you on the straight and narrow if you’re lane swimming or heading in the right direction if in open waters.

Below, you’ll find our pick of the best swimming goggles. There is something for all stripes, whether you’re paddling, racing or taking on an event like an open-water swim or one of the UK’s best triathlons.

How I Test Swimming Goggles

I tend to swim around 2-3,000m a week. Most of that is done in an open-air lido, but there are occasions where I’ll take to open-water ponds, indoor pools and even dips in the sea. The key features that I look for are UV protection and comfortable gaskets that keep the goggles in place and leak-free but don’t cause discomfort during longer swims. Good peripheral vision is always a bonus, but not essential if just swimming lengths.

I've tested all but the last two sets of goggles, which were recommended by a previous reviewer.

The Best Swimming Goggles

The TYR Performance Special Ops 2.0 were our favorite goggles for the cut-and-thrust nature of the triathlon swim arena, but this Vapour model, from the British brand Zone3, has knocked the US manufacturer off the top spot. The smooth silicone gasket offered a firm-yet-comfortable grip on the eye sockets while getting the fit spot on was easy thanks to a small trigger on each side of the eye cup. The adjustable strap compensated well for the fixed nose bridge.

Whether in the open water or the pool, the Vapour goggles’ polarized lenses added brilliant clarity. In fact, it felt like the goggles compensated for my slight shortsightedness (-1.5 in both eyes). The large, curved lenses didn’t fog up during testing and the included fabric bag ensured they remained scratch-free between training sessions. The only downside is the price, though the Vapour goggles are a worthwhile investment.

Zoggs is a popular brand that you may have seen stocked at swimming pools and open-water swimming sites. The Predator range is its performance-focused line and the Predator Flex Titanium promises enhanced frame flexibility and a customized fit. In practice, the goggles didn’t deliver on these claims. The strap’s fine-tuning was good and the gasket suction was secure, but the non-adjustable nose bridge’s design led to pressure and discomfort on my nose’s slight hump.

Otherwise, the mirrored lenses performed as promised—dulling the brightness of strip lighting of an indoor pool and low-lying sun when outside—but other goggles offer better overall clarity in a variety of conditions. Ultimately, the Predator Flex Titanium will help you get a session done, but there are better, and cheaper, alternatives.

When completing an open-water or triathlon event, you want a pair of goggles that are going to stay firmly in place on your face, even if you get an accidental whack from another participant’s stray arm or foot. You’ll have no issues on that front with the Special Ops 2.0 from TYR Performance, which vacuum themselves securely to your eye socket (in fact, a bit too aggressively if not optimally placed, which can cause a bit of discomfort). 

Their polarized lenses offer an impressively wide field of vision, meaning you should be able to spot an oncoming limb before it’s too late. You’ll want to invest in a protective case, because a fabric one isn’t included in the box and the lenses’ coating is easily scratched if just thrown in a bag with the rest of your kit.

At RRP, the R1 goggles from American brand Roka are one of the pricier inclusions in our round-up, but do they justify their cost? Their USP is a patented lens shape that is said to increase the height of your field of view—key when navigating in open waters. In practice, the design worked, allowing me to keep my head lower when popping it up for a quick check, minimizing wasted energy and lost momentum. The only downside I found was that the gasket suction didn’t feel as strong as others tested, which could explain why my pair occasionally fogged up.

Speedo is the king of swimming goggles and even if you’ve never swum for fitness before, it’s likely that you’d be able to pick out its logo in a line-up. The Vanquisher 2.0 Mirrored goggles are its racing-focused pool goggles and feature a low profile that helps you slice through the water, but they are a good option even if you’re not thinking of getting competitive just yet. 

Their main draw is how comfortable they are. They sit inside the eye socket, rather than on the bones around it, and at no point did I feel any discomfort during testing. Four changeable nose-pieces allow you to get the fit truly dialed in. Their only downside is their limited peripheral vision, but if your sole focus is the line on the bottom of the pool, this won’t be an issue.

On the surface, this set of goggles from Amazon Basics looks remarkably similar to the Vanquisher 2.0 from Speedo. They even have comparable features, including UVA and UVB protection and interchangeable nose-pieces that allow you to tailor the fit. So are you better off saving yourself some money and going for the cost-conscious alternative? Maybe. The Amazon Basics set performed admirably in the pool and at no point did they struggle with leaks or fogging. They did, however, become uncomfortable during longer sessions, unlike the more expensive option from Speedo, which were so inconspicuous it felt like I wasn’t wearing goggles at all.

I’ve long been a fan of Aqua Sphere, and have used the brand’s Kayenne goggles for everything from Swim Serpentine to triathlons over the years. I was similarly impressed with the Vistas Swim Mask. The brand’s great adjustment system (where you pull the straps to the right tightness and press a button to release) ensures you can get a great fit, which is impressive for a one-size-only set of goggles. 

The mask design minimizes any pressure points common with standard goggles, and it had the best peripheral vision of all the goggles on test. Although its shape might seem a bit excessive for lane swimming, it’s ideal for open-water and triathlon swimming, or for anyone who struggles to find a comfortable pair of goggles.

If you’re looking for a pool-focused set of goggles that don’t have the inner eye socket fit of a set like the Speedo or Amazon offering, then the Vapor from Nike could be a sound option. The oversized lenses allow you to see from side to side as well as what’s in front of you, while their mirrored coating reduces glare during gasps for breath. I did find the gaskets less comfortable than others I tested, but they had a good seal and didn’t leak or fog up once.

While you might not have heard of Born Bound, the USA-based triathlon upstart is aiming to go toe-to-toe with more established brands across running, cycling and swimming. The Vann is its first shot at a pair of swimming goggles, and it’s fair to say that the bigger boys should be worried. I tested them in the pool and open water and couldn’t really find a fault with them: They stayed clear in all conditions, had great peripheral vision and were easy to get set up straight out of the box. 

Other than the Roka ones they were the only pair I tested to come with a microfibre carrying bag. Although it doesn’t change the quality of the overall product, it’s a nice touch and helps you to keep them box fresh and scratch-free for longer.

While the option for short-sighted swimmers to buy prescription lenses (covering -1.50 to -6.00 prescriptions) will be welcome, there are plenty of reasons for every swimmer to consider these. These goggles allow you to swap between three included polycarbonate mirrored lenses to suit low light, artificial light or bright sunlight. The goggle gaskets are made from silicone to offer a snug fit, and there are also three interchangeable nose pieces so you can customise the fit.

There’s no more checking your watch or guessing your pace with these smart goggles. They track swims accurately in the pool and also offer some useful features for open-water swimming. Motion sensors track metrics like number of lengths, stroke rate and can recognise when you’ve stopped for a rest between intervals. That data is projected on the inside of one lens so you’re aware of your performance in real time.

When you head into open water, the Form goggles can be paired with Garmin watches and Apple Watches to display stats. They can also connect to some Polar heart rate monitors to add your pulse to the data available, and Form has added new structured workouts to follow too. The goggles themselves are built to last and the clear lenses have the same anti-fog coating used in diving masks. As well as having their own app that offers detailed stats, the goggles are compatible with apps like Garmin Connect and Strava. They’re expensive but as wearable tech for swimmers goes, these smart swim goggles are the best money can buy.

Read more in our Form review

Buying Advice To Help You Choose The Best Swimming Goggles For You

You know what they are primarily built to do: keep the water out of your eyes. All the goggles above will do that, but there are design elements and features that can make them better suited to your preferred type of swimming.

Types Of Swimming Goggles

Leisure goggles put a bigger emphasis on comfort with a larger gasket (the normally silicone part that fits into your eye socket) and usually have more adjustable straps. These will be the cheapest options. 

Racing goggles have a lower profile with harder-feeling lenses that reduces the drag to make sure you’re not losing any speed in the water. 

Open-water goggles will offer UV protection, and can also offer polarised or mirrored lenses. Some goggles offer interchangeable lenses.

Design Features To Watch Out For

Switchable nose bridges help to customise the fit. If you’ve struggled to get a tight, long-lasting seal in the past, it may be worth buying a pair with this extra means of tailoring the fit.

Anti-fog treatments can help avoid your vision becoming obscured as you build up a sweat. They’re common on all types of goggles but can be especially helpful in open-water ones where you need to sight regularly. These apply to all goggles, so if you can find ones that offer some form of anti-fog treatment or element in the design, this can help to make sure your vision remains clear for plenty of swim time.

If you want to listen to music or podcasts as you rack up lengths in the pool, you don’t just need waterproof headphones – most of those connect to a music player over Bluetooth, which won’t work in the water. What you need are waterproof headphones with built-in music players. There are only a handful of those and we’ve tested all of them in the pool to help you choose the best swimming headphones for your budget and needs. 

All our picks are IPX8 or IP68 rated (the second digit, the 8, conveys how waterproof the headphones are on the ingress protection code scale). IPX7, the level below this, means the headphones are protected against water entering and damaging the device in depths of less than 1m for up to 30 minutes. IPX8 is more waterproof than this, but the manufacturer can specify the depth and duration. Finally, don’t assume your waterproof headphones can handle salt water – unless the manufacturer explicitly says they can, they probably can’t. 

Some swimming headphones use the in-ear buds you’re probably familiar with, but some are bone-conduction headphones, which sit next to your ear and transmit sound through your cheekbones and into your inner ear. No, really. It can be a struggle to hear the sound delivered this way when next to a busy road, but the experience is far superior in the water. The difference between in and out of the water is pronounced – admittedly not great if you prefer breaststroke. 

The final thing to say is that you’ll want to fix whichever pair you choose in place using swimming goggles and a swim cap, or they’ll come off when you push off the wall. 

The Best Swimming Headphones

Jukes makes a wearable coaching system so swimmers can hear their coach while submerged, and also produces bone-conduction headphones with a built-in music player. The Solo Wave is the latest model and includes Bluetooth streaming along with the 16GB of storage – though the charging cable used to transfer your files is on the flimsy side. The headphones carry an IP68 waterproof rating and ideally need to be worn with the supplied earplugs and with a swim cap or goggles, but we found they stay in place reliably and feel light despite being the heaviest on our list.

Shokz (formerly AfterShokz) has rebranded its Xtrainerz swimming headphones but retained the same slim, light design. It has a built-in music player and doesn’t support Bluetooth so you can’t connect to your phone out of the pool – a pity since the 4GB of storage is small compared with others on our list. The player works with five major file formats and there are physical controls to skip back and forwards through songs and podcast episodes. Sound quality is clear and doesn’t get muffled in the water, and swimming ear plugs are included to improve sound isolation while keeping water out of your ears. The eight-hour battery life should be good for a week’s worth of swimming. The Shokz have been successfully tested for use up to a depth of two metres for two hours, and Shokz says they can be worn in the sea too. 

Shokz OpenSwim review

The Naenka Runner Pro offers Bluetooth streaming and a music player for significantly less money than the Shokz OpenSwim and in a similar frame. There is 8GB of storage providing space for around 1,500 songs and the sound performance is comparable to that of the OpenSwim, with good clarity in the water. Unfortunately  in Bluetooth streaming mode battery life is up to three hours rather than the seven hours seen elsewhere. But if you want a slim, comfortable set of headphones that cost less than the OpenSwim and offer two listening modes, then these are the ones to get.

Naenka Runner Pro review

Tayogo is one of the headphone makers you’ll find only on Amazon, but don’t let its less-well-known status put you off. Along with making solid bone-conduction headphones, it also makes an affordable set to wear while swimming with an IPX8 rating for depths of up to three metres. The music player component clips out of the back of the headphones so you can load audio files on it. The sound quality can be a bit muffled in places and the battery performance ranges from four to seven hours.

Sony is the biggest brand on this list and while it might not deliver the best sound in the water, it does provide the biggest battery to play with: an impressive 12 hours from a single charge, with a three-minute quick-charge mode that delivers an hour of listening time. The headphones carry an IP65/IP68 waterproof rating, and you have to attach the swimming buds included to make them waterproof enough to swim in. While 4GB and 8GB storage options are listed, we can only find the smaller storage option available from third-party retailers.

If you take your swimming seriously but prefer not to go minimal with a pair of briefs, try jammers instead. They will cover up more of you and still offer the benefit of reducing drag.

The knee-length cut also offers some compression for leg muscles. Recent generations of jammers have also seen improvements in resisting chlorine damage to the fabric, while others have added protection against the sun when you’re swimming outdoors.

You may be surprised by how expensive elite jammers can be, but there are also affordable pairs that cost only a little more than casual swimming trunks. Here are our recommendations.

Zone3 is best known for its wetsuits and triathlon swimming gear, but its jammers are also top-notch. Available in 10 colourways including several with a welcome splash of colour, these suits use chlorine-proof fabric to help them last longer and have a UPF 50+ rating to protect your skin from UVA and UVB rays.

Buy from Zone3 | £35 (some styles currently reduced to £17.50)

Speedo’s Fastskin suits have been helping swimmers smash records since 2019. While you’ll have to pay close to £300 for the most technically advanced Pure Intent suit, you can pick up the LZR Racer for considerably less and it will still give you an edge in the water. It uses a mix of Lycra, nylon and Speedo’s EnduroFlex knitted fabric to offer the right mix of compression and freedom of movement. Lest you think it confers an unfair advantage, it’s approved for competition wear by swimming governing body FINA.

Buy from Speedo | £95

These jammers are designed for those entering the race domain for the first time. The fabric used in this technical suit is designed to keep things comfortable and to minimise drag in the water, with reflective elements offering protection against the sun. The bonded seams help make things more streamlined and the silicon edges used on the waist and legs of the suit should mean it doesn’t budge as you move through the water.

Buy from Proswimwear | £81.99 (currently reduced to £66.99)

Nike’s Hydrastrong Solid jammers keep the look simple with a classic black design and that iconic swoosh. This is a pair for when you’re swimming at your fastest. As well as noticeably reducing drag in the water, using flat seams minimises the possibility of chafing. Nike’s HydraStrong fabric is designed to stand up to regular use in the pool too. When they need a clean, just make sure you hand-wash rather than chucking them in the washing machine to keep them looking good for your next swim session.

Buy from Wiggle | £28

Nike’s Hydrastrong Solid jammers keep the look simple with a classic black design and that iconic swoosh. This is a pair for when you’re swimming at your fastest. As well as noticeably reducing drag in the water, using flat seams minimises the possibility of chafing. Nike’s HydraStrong fabric is designed to stand up to regular use in the pool too. When they need a clean, just make sure you hand-wash rather than chucking them in the washing machine to keep them looking good for your next swim session.

Buy from Wiggle | £28

See related 

• The Best Swimming Shorts
• The Best Swimming Goggles
• The Best Swimming Watches

Another from Speedo’s Fastskin collection, the Pure Valor is aimed at open-water endurance swimmers with compression in the inner leg to support your muscles as you move through the water. The waistband design has also been tweaked along with the finish on the leg to improve the suit’s ability to stop water getting in. Like Speedo’s other Fastskin suits, it’s approved by FINA and is a lightweight option to consider if your swimming time is mainly spent away from the pool.

Buy from Wiggle | £119-£130

If you like your jammers with a second-skin fit, these ones have you covered in both senses. Carbon bands compress the leg muscles in the most important places and all stitching has also been ditched to make sure there’s minimal drag and reduce the chances of chafing. There are a few colours to choose from, though these jammers don’t come cheap.

Buy from Arena | £216.50 (currently reduced to £210)

Most jammers have conservative designs, but if you want something that’s on the louder side, British brand Maru delivers with some eye-catching looks. This polyester pair features a colourful shark fin print that looks like it belongs in blue Caribbean waters rather than your local lido. The fabric is 100% chlorine-proof and carries a UPF 50+ rating.

Buy from Maru | £26.99 (currently reduced to £6.74)

While most see swimming as a summer-only pursuit, for the dedicated, it is a year-round compulsion requiring daily trips to the pool or plunging into a pond or the sea.

This obsession can become a bit frustrating for those who aren’t as devoted to a dip, with plans put on hold and sleep patterns disrupted to enable the serious swimmer to get up early to complete their training.

But come Christmas time, it does have its benefits. Like buying gifts for runners and cyclists, purchasing presents for swimmers is a piece of cake. A swimmer will always appreciate more gear, and there are always new releases they can’t wait to get their hands on.

While obvious gifts include swimming watches, goggles and changing robes, there are plenty of other options if the swimmer in your life already has these big boxes ticked. To help you navigate these choppy waters, we’ve picked our favorite gifts for swimmers this winter, and grouped them into different categories, with options to suit all budgets—from secret Santa stocking fillers to serious budget-blowers.

Swimming Watches

While these are our favorite picks, check out our round-up of the best swimming watches if you need more inspiration.

Goggles

Looking for even more eyewear options? Our best swimming goggles selection is jam-packed with recommendations.

Changing Robes

Gifts For Pool Swimmers

Gifts For Outdoor Swimmers

If you want to take your swimming out of the pool and into open water, it’s worth investing in a wetsuit. Purists may be sniffy about them, but if you want to cover some distance in the water or train for an event, a swimming wetsuit will keep you warmer, aids buoyancy in the water and can even help you swim faster. But where to begin in finding the right suit? There is a huge range of wetsuits on the market, some offering great value and others requiring more of an investment.

For those new to outdoor swimming, a common mistake is to dig out an old wetsuit from that summer you spent attempting to surf in Cornwall. Surf wetsuits are completely different – they are designed to keep you warm on top of the water and will create drag for swimming. A swimming wetsuit is made from a thinner layer of neoprene and is designed to be flexible in the arms and shoulders, and to offer extra buoyancy in the legs.

The biggest challenge for a swimmer is finding a wetsuit that fits your shape and size. The fit will be fundamental in how the wetsuit performs and supports you in the water. Most major wetsuit brands base their sizing on height and weight, but some brands have increased their range to differentiate between male and female, and different body types. You also need to consider the type of swimmer you are. Most wetsuits are designed for front crawl, but there are new suits on the market designed to support breaststroke swimmers.

Most wetsuits are tailored to a more athletic build, so if you don’t have that, a bespoke wetsuit is sure to be a better fit. It will come at a higher price, but it may be more cost-effective to buy one wetsuit that fits well, rather than having to buy a second one to replace an ill-fitting first purchase.

A combination of six types of neoprene varying in thickness and elasticity enables this wetsuit to give the best open-water swim possible. A flat Aircell 3.5mm structure on the front allows for flexibility and helps with body rotation in the water. Thinner 2mm neoprene on the front of the lower legs and knees helps support stronger leg kicks, and the 0.5mm neoprene used for the sleeves allows for ease of movement in the water.

This is an excellent entry-level wetsuit designed to help you swim and train in open water as safely as possible. The orange panels help to make you visible in the water, which you definitely want to be if you plan on river or sea swimming. As well as providing thermal insulation to maintain an ideal body temperature, the 2-2.5mm thick Yamamoto neoprene allows for freedom of movement and comfort while swimming.

This wetsuit is rated highly by those in the industry and gets top reviews from customers. It’s well suited to beginners, and is notable for its flexibility and buoyancy as well as how quick it is to take off. According to the brand, the neoprene used offers 30% more buoyancy than standard neoprene. With its soft-seal fit around the neck that helps avoid chafing, the Aspire is particularly favoured by women.

See related 

• The Best Swimming Caps And Hats For Open Water Swimming
• The Best Swimming Goggles
• The Best Jammers For Competitive Swimming

It has been a long time coming, but finally there’s a wetsuit designed especially for breaststroke swimmers. Created in direct response to demand, this suit allows for the lateral leg movement required for breaststroke as well as front crawl. The Aspect uses a mix of high performance Aqua-X Smoothskin and high-stretch nylon panels to allow movement between the legs and across the chest. It also enables the legs to stay submerged in the water to maintain the correct breaststroke body position.

If you don’t find standard wetsuits fit you well, Snugg is the answer. The leading name in tailored wetsuits requires you to supply dozens of measurements (a video on the website details how to do it) and your suit is then handmade in Cornwall to your exact requirements. This service, coupled with Snugg’s Buoyancy Control System, ensures your wetsuit will suit your swimming ability. The price will depend largely on the thickness you require.

Open-water swimming, we’re sure you’ve noticed, has exploded in popularity this year. According to Colin Hill, a stalwart of open-water and cold-water swimming as well as the swim director of the Children with Cancer UK Swim Serpentine event, interest in it has been growing steadily for years but lockdown took it to another level. “People weren’t able to go to their pool and desperately wanted to have a swim and experience the outdoors,” Hill told Coach.

Mass-participation events like Swim Serpentine are the easiest gateways into the sport. We asked Hill for his advice for first-timers, which includes the editor of Coach, ahead of the event this Saturday.

Keep your cool at the start

Try to keep yourself nice and calm before the race. Often there’s somebody on the Tannoy getting everyone revved up. The adrenaline’s pumping and then you’re in the water, and everyone sprints off, arms flailing. And after 400 metres you’re shattered and you don’t know why. It’s because you haven’t been breathing properly.

I try to ignore the build-up. Stay nice and relaxed as you get in the water. The first thing I do is get my breathing sorted out. Make sure I’m breathing out in the water, get a nice clear breath in, then I build up during the swim.

Take a rest if you need to

You don’t have to swim all the time – you can just stop and tread water to have a little rest. If you’re wearing a wetsuit, you get a bit of buoyancy, which makes things a little bit easier. If you wear a tow float you can hug one of those and just chill out for a bit and get your breath back. A tow float’s a great thing to take with you if you’re a little bit nervous – just hold on to it for support when you need it. If you’re really tired just stick your hand up and a kayaker will come along. Grab hold of their kayak and they’ll just make sure you’re OK.

See related 

• The Best Wetsuits For Open-Water Swimming
• The Best Swimming Caps And Hats For Open Water Swimming

Take a wide line around the buoys

If you’re just enjoying yourself, doing breaststroke, or you’re a slow swimmer, go wide around the turning buoys. As on a race track, the fastest swimmers will be hugging those buoys and going pretty fast. If you go a little bit wider, it means that you’re not going to get swum over accidentally.

This year, for the main turning buoys, we’re putting in some extra buoys further out and asking breaststroke swimmers and slower swimmers to go a little bit wider around those red turning boys rather than the large pink ones.

Familiarise yourself with the course

Obviously there’s no line on the bottom of the pool to follow, so you do have to look up, though not quite as often as if you were swimming by yourself in a lake. In the Serpentine you are pretty much hugging the shoreline, so between looking at the shore on your left-hand side and looking at other swimmers as you breathe, it’s not too difficult to find your way around – you’re not going to go too far wrong. Look up, but not that often because you can slow yourself down quite a lot if your head comes too far above the water.

My best advice is to have a good look at the course for obvious landmarks before you set off – a big building or a bridge. Then if you can’t quite see the marker buoys, there’s something to point you in the right direction.

Swimming caps today are a far cry from the cheap rubber hats we wore learning to swim at school. As well as keeping you a bit warmer and preventing drag, the main benefit of a swim hat in open water is that it increases your visibility to others – as long as you choose a brightly coloured hat – if you ever find yourself struggling.

Before you pick a swim hat, consider the kind of swimming you are planning to do and when. You need to ensure your hat isn’t too tight, otherwise you can suffer from a swim-hat headache caused by pressure around the head. Too loose, on the other hand, and it will fill with water, create drag and come off.

If you struggle to find a swimming hat that fits like it should, try a neoprene bonnet with a fastening under the chin – these can be more comfortable. And if you have long hair a hat from Soul Caps (see below) will be your best bet.

Made from 100% silicone, this comfy hat is easy to put on and get off, and is designed for swimming in colder water. It comes in several colours including pink, purple, blue and black, although it’s best to avoid black in open water.

Buy from Speedo | £14

This neoprene hat has a clever curved design that fully covers the ears. The 2.5mm neoprene layer helps reduce heat loss from the head, making it ideal for colder water and minimising the chances of that ice-cream-headache feeling. It can also be adjusted using the Velcro strap at the back for a better fit.

Buy from Orca | £29

See related 

• The Best Wetsuits For Open-Water Swimming
• The Best Swimming Goggles

Avoid brain freeze in cold water with this 4mm Yamamoto Smoothskin neoprene skull cap. It comes in four sizes, from XS to L, and there’s a Velcro chin strap to help you further tweak the fit. As well as black, there’s a high-vis orange version.

Buy from Zone3 | £29

Favoured by Team GB open-water swimmer Alice Dearing, these swimming caps are ideal for thick, curly, long or afro hair because they’re roomy and have a tight seal. Made from 100% premium silicone, they’re available in four sizes from regular to XXL, plus a junior version.

The coolest thing about swim hat company Cool Bathing is that you can send back your old swim hat and it may be used in Hat Tricks, a work by artist Karen Thomas. This project has so far resulted in a rainbow, a Christmas tree and other bespoke hats made from donated swim hats. A close second in the cool stakes are Thomas’s hat designs – made from high-quality, durable silicone – including this gulls model inspired by a vintage knitted costume from the 1930s.

Buy from Cool Bathing | £16

Unless you have made a lifelong commitment to skimpy briefs or are aiming to shave milliseconds off your lap times in the pool by wearing jammers, a set of shorts is the natural choice for your swimming attire. They’re comfortable, they’re practical and you’ll never have to question whether yours are too revealing, unless you’ve picked some pretty strange swim shorts.

It’s also easy to marry style with substance, especially when the substance of swimming trunks doesn’t vary much between brands. Expect an elastic waistband with drawstrings, a mesh inner lining, and side pockets, again made from mesh so they’re less likely to trap air. So whichever pair catch your eye below, you can buy safe in the knowledge that you’re not missing some innovative feature that will transform your SWOLF score.

The straight and wavy horizontal lines on these shorts might attract slightly longer stares than is ideal – it’s actually hard to look away from the shimmering lower half in particular – but if that doesn’t bother you, then the Nike Vital shorts are a great all-round option.

Buy from Nike | £59.95

As you’d expect, Speedo’s range is filled with top-notch swimming shorts, but if you’re keen to move rather than merely lounge in your shorts, these are the pick of the bunch.

Buy from Speedo | £26

See related 

• The Best Swimming Goggles
• The Best Jammers For Competitive Swimming
• The Best Swimsuits For Doing Laps Of Your Local Pool In
• Swimming Workouts To Improve Your Speed And Stamina

The flowers and flamingos pattern on these shorts makes them a great pick for beach holidays as well as trips to the local lido, and the Durafeel material used is rated to retain its colour and shape for 750 hours in the pool.

Buy from Zoggs | £30 (currently reduced to £15)

Decathlon’s in-house swimming brand Nabaiji is always worth checking out when you’re on the hunt for a bargain. These swimming shorts come in at just under £15 and have a comfortable and durable design.

Buy from Decathlon | £14.99

When you can’t swim, you can find yourself on the sidelines, watching others have fun, especially on holiday. Reality TV star James Tindale knows this all too well. “When I was younger I had a traumatic experience and it just put me off,” he told Coach. “I’ve been lucky doing a lot of travelling and filming. I’ve done surf lessons at Bondi Beach and Surfers Paradise, but because I couldn’t swim I couldn’t go as far out as I needed to. It held me back a little bit, so I never fully experienced these amazing things.”

Tindale is far from the only adult who can’t swim and International Learn To Swim Week aims to raise awareness of this, as well as letting those people know that it’s never too late to learn. Tindale will be taking lessons all this week to overcome his fear of water, which stemmed from an incident at a water park in Newcastle.

“I swam through a cave and I remember thinking, ‘it’s not that deep’,” says Tindale. “I relaxed a bit and went to touch the bottom, then started going under and panicking and swallowing water. Someone had to pull us out. Since then I’ve just had this fear. It’s almost like something holding on to us whenever I get in the water.

See related

• Learn How To Float – It Might Save Your Life
• The Benefits Of Swimming Will Convince You To Dig Out Your Swimming Costume

“When I was 19 I went on my first lads’ holiday to Magaluf. We went on one of them booze cruises and there’s a point when it stops in a lush place and everyone jumps off and cools down. All my mates were jumping in and shouting, ‘James, come on, jump in, you’ll be all right, you’re with us now’. So with a bit of peer pressure I thought, ‘I’m going to do it’. I jumped in then the same thing happened. I just panicked. Luckily I got myself back on the boat.”

The week’s theme of “Loving Water Safely” is especially pertinent to men, who accounted for 82% of all the accidental drownings in the UK in 2019, according to the Water Incident Database.

Tindale will be sharing his experience of overcoming his fears during the week on his social channels. “I want it to be as public as possible,” Tindale says. “I know I’ll get a bit of stick. It’s like everything – if you try something you do get a bit of stick, because it’s funny or whatever, but you know what? I don’t care. I’m doing it for me and I’m doing it in the hope that it’ll help other people. Even if one or two people watch it and say, ‘If James is doing that, I can do that’ and they go on to do it, I’ll feel rewarded.”

Virtually all pools offer adult swimming lessons now, but Tindale is learning at a Better centre. If you’re inspired to follow his example, start with your nearest leisure centre – it’s never too late. “If there’s something you want to do, there’s always time to do it,” says Tindale. “You don’t have to think, ‘I’m too old to do that now’, or, ‘I should have done that 10 years ago’. If there’s something that you regret not doing, then you should do it.”

If there’s one type of exerciser who has been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic it’s swimmers. It might be a pain for gym-goers used to a well-stocked weights room to adjust to working out at home, but it’s a whole lot tougher to conjure a swimming pool out of thin air.

Fortunately, you can become a stronger swimmer without getting wet in the slightest, and right now is the perfect time to focus on your supportive strength and conditioning work. Then, when pools do reopen, you’ll be blazing a trail in the fast lane from the off.

This workout has been created by Scott Dickens, two-time Olympic swimmer and director of strategic partnerships at FORM, a company that makes smart augmented-reality swim goggles. Those goggles are of no use for this workout, but they are absolutely excellent as we found out when we reviewed them.

Home Workout For Swimmers

“In my dry-land training I try to focus on a combination of strength, endurance and cardio,” says Dickens. “One of my favourite ways to incorporate different exercises is using a deck of cards.

“This workout can be adjusted to focus on the entire body or one muscle group. I love this workout because it will help build up that endurance and stamina so you can get the most out of your first swims back in the pool.”

How To Do This Workout

Each suit in your deck of cards represents a different exercise, which you pick from the list below. Shuffle the deck, pick a card and do the amount of reps it shows of the exercise you picked for that suit – aces are low and all face cards are 10 reps. You’ll be going through the whole deck and completing a total of 85 reps of each of your four chosen exercises in total. Take ten to 20 seconds of rest between each card.

“With dry-land routines it's important to remember to be purposeful when designing your workout,” says Dickens. “Choose an area of your fitness that you know you’d like to improve on and pick exercises that will help you achieve those goals.”

See related :

• Four Swimming Drills To Enliven Your Time In The Pool
• The Ultimate Home Workout Plan

Spades – Lower body

• Jump squat
• Clock lunge
• Skater jump
• Split squat
• Single-leg squat

Hearts – Upper body

• Press-up
• Triceps dip
• Shoulder press (use a water jug or fill a backpack for weights)
• Upright row (use a water jug or backpack)

Diamonds – Core

• Mountain climber
• Plank variations
• Russian twist
• Alternating V-sit

Clubs – Cardio

• Burpee
• Jumping jack
• Skipping rope
• Quick feet

Even if you’re already an active person, we bet you find it hard not to get swept up in the “new year, new you” commitments – hey, you’re probably more susceptible than most to signing up for physical challenges. So allow us to suggest you make completing charity event Swimathon your first target of 2020.

The event raises money for Cancer Research UK and the Marie Curie charity, and the organisers are hoping that 22,000 people will take part in 2020, which means taking on one of the swimming challenges on the weekend of 27th to 29th March.

Entries are open on Tuesday 5th November, which may seem mighty early but if you commit now and start hitting the pool, you’ll be able to tackle one of the harder challenges even if you’re not already an accomplished swimmer. The longest single distance available is 5K – 200 laps of a 25m pool – and if even that doesn’t feel tough enough you can opt for the triple 5K challenge, where you swim 5K on each day of the event. If you’re not sure how to go about training for a long swim the Swimathon website has tips and training plans you can use to prepare for the event.

See related 

• Challenge Yourself To Swim 5K In Just Eight Weeks’ Time
• Get Free Swimming Training Plans From Speedo On
• Four Swimming Drills To Enliven Your Time In The Pool

There are also several shorter options available – 400m, 1.5km and 2.5km – and you can also sign up as a team to tackle 1.5km or 5km. Any of the challenges will work as the perfect goal to work towards in the early months of 2020, especially as you’ll probably be doing your training indoors in a heated pool (much respect to those who stick to outdoor lidos though). If you contrast that with people logging long runs through the wind, rain and snow in the build-up to the London Marathon, it’ll probably make you feel pretty good.

Swimathon is also very flexible when it comes to the event itself. There are more than 600 pools around the country taking part, so you can complete your challenge at a local venue. Even if there isn’t a participating pool nearby you can join the MySwimathon challenge, where you complete a swim of any distance in a convenient pool at some point between Friday 20th March and Sunday 7th April, and log your time on the Swimathon website. You still get the medal, and you can still raise a load of money for charity.

It costs £14 to enter Swimathon. There’s no mandatory fundraising target, but you’ll naturally want to raise as much as possible for Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie with your swim.

Sign up to Swimathon

Give us the option and we’d choose running or cycling in the great outdoors over a treadmill or exercise bike. But we’d be less sure about picking between swimming in a heated, indoor pool or outside.

One reason is, of course, convenience. Because of the added risks, you’re advised to head out in open water with a group or at least one other experienced person, so you’re reliant on finding a willing partner. Another is that some people freak out if they can’t see the bottom and start imagining what’s going to come up from the murky depths. The other is the cold.

And yeah, it’s cold. We got a small taste recently at a training session held by London-based swim club Swim Dem Crew on behalf of Nike Swim. Within five minutes of doing technique exercises including training aids like hand paddles, Coach’s jaw was shivering uncontrollably – highly embarrassing when surrounded by fitness professionals. Thankfully, for our pride at least, everyone was shivering uncontrollably by the end.

“You get better at dealing with it,” Swim Dem co-founder Nathaniel Cole tells me afterwards. “It’s always going to be cold, it’s always going to be annoying, but it’s nice at the same time. For me, your skin kind of goes in and your heart’s beating and it gives you a bit of a rush. I say embrace that rush because you feel really alive after it.”

Nathaniel Cole (right) with fellow Swim Dem co-founder Peigh Asante

It’s not all learning to tolerate discomfort, thankfully. “I like open-water swimming in London because most of the lidos are in nice locations and I like that I can float on my back and look up to the sky, and only be an hour away from the office. It’s so different to the indoor environment and the chlorine.”

Cole also says the style of swimming outside suits him better. “You kick less – you just use your legs for balance really because you tend to have a wetsuit on and that takes care of buoyancy.” That means it’s worth working on your arm technique, especially since many open-water events involve swimming a long way. It’s best to find a local club or coach near you to nail the finer points of your stroke and master essential techniques like sighting, but Cole did give us three simple ways to help you acclimatise to the cold. It’s still not going away.

How To Do Deal With The Cold

1. A simple one, but worthwhile. “To ease the transition, go to an unheated lido first and get used to what cold water feels like,” says Cole. You’ll be able to see the bottom, too.
2. While you’re at the lido, practise regulating your breathing as you enter the water. “A lot of people who go into cold water for the first time hyperventilate and start panicking – and nothing good comes from that,” says Cole. “So regulated breathing is trying to keep calm: ‘I’m breathing in, I’m breathing out’, you go into cold water, ‘I’m breathing in, I’m breathing out’. That helps your body adjust quicker because it’s not going through this big change internally through your breathing.”
3. Finally, don’t skimp on the essentials. “Invest in a good wetsuit,” says Cole. “They are expensive but there’s a big difference between £20 and £40, and what you can get for your money.”

Just like with most things in life, the key to getting better at swimming is practice. But if you don’t spend your time in the pool mixing up what you do in your workouts, your gains will inevitably plateau.

It’s important to tailor your training around what you’re hoping to achieve in the water, whether that’s becoming a faster swimmer, getting ready to compete a long-distance event, or simply losing weight and getting fitter in general.

To help you achieve your swimming goals we asked Olivier Poirier-Leroy, former national level swimmer and founder of training manual and diary YourSwimBook, to share and explain a variety of workouts suitable for beginner and intermediate swimmers.

Swimming Workouts To Build Stamina

This is a tried and tested session that I’ve used with swimmers of all abilities. I do variations of it myself every Wednesday during my aerobic/recovery sessions. It’s some basic interval training that will tax your aerobic system and give your overall cardio fitness a big old boost.

The goal is to work up to about 45 minutes’ worth of aerobic swimming. How hard should you be working? Holding a conversation between repetitions shouldn’t be easy, but not impossible. Think comfortably uncomfortable.

Warm up

Warm up with some 25m or 50m laps of closed-fist freestyle swimming. Closed-fist freestyle swimming is exactly as it sounds – you ball up your fists, forcing your forearms to do more of the heavy lifting when it comes to pulling you through the water. It’s a great way to encourage a high elbow catch and will also help you improve that elusive feel for the water so that your stroke is on point once you get into the set.

Beginner workout

1 Alternating freestyle/closed-fist freestyle

Reps 8 Distance 25m Rest 15sec

2 Freestyle

Reps 10 Distance 100m Rest 20sec

Intermediate workout

1 Alternating freestyle/closed-fist freestyle

Reps 16 Distance 25m Rest 0sec

Speed up as you work through the reps to finish with a strong 95% effort on the final rep.

2 Freestyle

Reps 25-30 Distance 100m Rest 20sec

Swimming Workout To Build Speed

Developing speed in the water isn’t just about effort, it’s about finding the sweet spot between efficiency and power. The following will help you work on both of these critical aspects of faster swimming. It’s not heavy on distance, but it is high in quality.

There is a lot of stroke counting during this workout. Counting your strokes is a great habit to get into – it’s a constant reminder of how efficient you are being in the water and keeps you focused on a tangible part of your swimming, cutting down on some of the daydreaming that inevitably happens while we churn around the black line.

Beginners should do this set one to two times, while more advanced swimmers can work their way up to five rounds.

1 Freestyle 50s

Reps 4 Distance 50m Rest 25sec

With each rep, lower the number of strokes per 50m. If you take 35 strokes on the first rep, try 34 for the second rep, 33 for the third, and 32 for the fourth. The goal is to swim as efficiently as possible. Tight streamline off the wall, solid hip and shoulder rotation, and an even and balanced stroke.

2 Freestyle 25s

Reps 6 Distance 25m Rest 40sec

Take your best stroke count from the 50s and cut it in half (so in our example this would be 16 strokes). Your goal is to go as fast as possible while holding that stroke count. This will teach you to be efficient at a high speed and find that happy balance between stroke count (how fast your arms are turning over) and distance per stroke (how far each stroke takes you in the water). It’s all about quality with these bad boys.

3 Double arm backstroke

Reps 1 Distance 50m

Swim easy to keep loose before the next round starts.

See related 

• The Benefits Of Swimming Will Convince You To Dig Out Your Swimming Costume
• The Best Swimming Watches For Pool Swimmers
• Four Swimming Drills To Enliven Your Time In The Pool

Swimming Workout To Burn Calories

This Tabata-style workout is short but high on intensity. You hit the gas on the first rep and hold on for dear life. Make sure do to a comprehensive warm-up, paying particular attention to your legs, and after the workout do a solid ten minutes of easy swimming and kicking to flush your muscles of lactic acid.

1 Freestyle sprints

Reps 8 Distance 25m Rest 10sec

2 Freestyle easy

Reps 1 Distance 100m

3 Kickboard

Reps 8 Distance 25m Rest 10sec

Hold the board in front of you and kick with your legs.

4 Freestyle easy

Reps 1 Distance 100m

5 Freestyle sprints

Reps 8 Distance 25m Rest 10sec

Try to beat your average pace from the first round.

Swimming Workout For Triathletes

For triathletes who are preparing for an event, there are a couple of things to focus on in the pool that will help prepare you for a good performance on race day.

In this workout we are going to have a dual focus – swimming with some sighting (picking your head up to the front to see where you are at, which is helpful for navigating while open-water swimming) and some swimming at your target race pace. The set is 2,300m not including the warm-up and warm-down.

1 Freestyle 100s

Reps 5 Distance 100m Rest 30sec

Swim at your race pace.

2 Freestyle 50s

Reps 4 Distance 50m Rest 20sec

Descending effort (get faster with each rep) sighting every 10m or so.

3 Freestyle 100s

Reps 4 Distance 100m Rest 30sec

Swim at your race pace.

4 Freestyle 50s

Reps 4 Distance 50m Rest 20sec

Descending effort (get faster with each rep) sighting every 10m or so.

5 Freestyle 100s

Reps 3 Distance 100m Rest 30sec

Swim at your race pace.

6 Freestyle 50s

Reps 4 Distance 50m Rest 20sec

Descending effort (get faster with each rep) sighting every 10m or so.

7 Freestyle 100s

Reps 2 Distance 100m Rest 30sec

Swim at your race pace.

8 Freestyle 50s

Reps 4 Distance 50m Rest 20sec

9 Freestyle

Reps 1 Distance 100m

Swim faster than your target race pace.

10 Warm-down

Do five minutes of easy swimming and then hit the hot tub!

He’s the man who can swim the length of a pool and back faster than any other human on the planet. So surely, surely, it can’t be true that Adam Peaty used to be scared of water… can it?

“That’s something that got played up by the newspapers but the reality is that I was scared of taking baths and showers when I was little, up to the age of six or so,” Peaty, the current world record holder in the 100m breaststroke, tells Men’s Fitness. “That’s quite old to be scared of water, isn’t it?”

What’s not in doubt is that, since he started swimming competitively aged 11, Peaty has torn up the record books and fundamentally changed the perception of what’s possible in the pool.

Aged just 21, Peaty became the first swimmer to hold all four major gold medals – Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth – in the same event at the same time when he won gold at the Rio Olympics. Now, at 23, he has broken the 100m breaststroke world record three times, won 18 major gold medals and is on a four-year undefeated streak in the 100m. He finishes some races a second or more ahead of the runner-up, which considering the distance is an achievement far more astonishing than the mere words and numbers could ever make it sound. His 100m winning margin of 1.32sec at the 2017 world championships, for example, was the biggest in the event’s history.

We sat down with Peaty to chat about how he trains, how he stays motivated, and how he’s bounced back from his first competitive defeat in four years with a renewed focus to write his name into the history books.

I think I speak on behalf of the nation that we are very glad you got over that fear of water...

Ha! Thank you. I soon got over it when I started swimming! I start racing competitively around the age of ten or 11, doing about two hours of training a week. Then I moved to Derby Swimming Club when I was 14 – that’s where I met my coach [Melanie Marshall, the British former Olympic swimmer] and started swimming up to 15 hours a week. It’s now closer to 30 hours a week!

When did you realise that you could have major success in this sport?

My coach always said she believed in my ability. That helped me build a huge amount of confidence in my own ability and helped me visualise success. I was 19 when I had my first shot at qualifying for the world championships but I missed out on a place by 0.03sec. It was obviously disappointing but also hugely encouraging that I was so close to beating these guys who were 24 or 25, and had years more training and experience than me. It made me really believe that I could make it.

At that point were the Olympic title and world records in your thoughts?

I dreamt about becoming the Olympic champion and breaking world records, but it’s never yours until you touch that wall before everyone else. As you get older, and the more championships you go to and do well, it’s weird – the success sort of creeps up on you. I went to the national championships aged 18 and by 21 I was the Olympic champion.

Was there one moment when you really knew you could take the sport to a new level?

My watershed moment was watching the 2012 Olympics [the 100m breaststroke final was won by South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh in a new world record time of 58.46sec] and I knew that time could be beaten. I did it in 2015, and then again in the heats in Rio [at the 2016 Olympics] before beating it again in the final [Peaty took gold in a time of 57.13sec, a huge 1.56sec ahead of Van der Burgh].

What was it like to race – and beat – your idol?

As I was growing up I watched all the guys on TV and really looked up to Cameron, so to beat him in Rio was an amazing and surreal experience. Everyone wants to come first, so it was a fantastic feeling winning the gold and setting a new world record, but I think you adjust to the new reality very quickly. My immediate focus was on how I could get even faster – that’s what drives me.

How have you improved as an athlete since you first arrived on the scene?

Experience is crucial and you build up your expertise over time by finding out what works and what doesn’t work – there’s a lot of trial and error. It’s why having a great coach who has been there and has lots of experience helps so much.

How does it feel to swim so much faster than your nearest rivals? Is it all pure pleasure or does it come with a lot of pressure?

I was swimming almost two seconds faster than anyone else in the world – it’s a big margin and we were in uncharted waters, and to keep getting faster was a challenge to navigate. But I love the pressure, it gives me huge confidence and the belief that I can pull it out of the bag when I need to. And I like knowing that my rivals are going to be thinking about me – it plays on their minds.

I’ve heard you say you swim best when “angry” – what did you mean by that?

I perform best when I perform angry, but it’s essential that my anger is always controlled and channelled into my technique. The best advice I’ve ever been given was my coach telling me to always maintain composure. I need to let that anger out but to do so without letting it negatively affect my performance. If I can channel it right I know I will be the fastest on the day.

You’ve won Olympic gold as well as five world championship titles, eight European titles, three Commonwealth Games titles and set the 14 fastest times of all time in the 100m. How do you stay motivated and hungry to get better?

I have always been highly motivated and competitive, and you can quickly get into a rhythm of competition and winning. And you need to stay in that rhythm because as soon as you slip out of your regime and rituals it’s downhill from there. Remember, no-one wins an Olympic gold medal in one day; you win it four, eight or even 12 years before you get in the water for the final. Ultimately, I want to be remembered as the greatest breaststroke swimmer of all time, and maybe even the greatest and fastest British or European swimmer ever.

Do you not think that you have achieved that already?

I am on my way there, but I will never close the book on that goal until the day I stop swimming. I think I have another ten years in me, and I’ve not peaked yet! I am always looking forward and thinking about Tokyo [the 2020 Olympics] and going under 57sec. Of course, everyone wants to achieve that but I think it’s there for me.

In April’s Commonwealth Games in Australia, you suffered your first defeat in four years when you lost to your great rival Van der Burgh by 0.04sec in the 50m breaststroke. How do you look back on that defeat now?

It was a very close race and I’d had a few niggles, but ultimately losing that race has given me more than winning it would have done. Athletes are always going to lose at some point, but we get to choose how we come back and how quickly and how successfully. I believe I am a better swimmer for losing that race and I’m certainly a lot happier. When you have a long winning run it can be easy to start thinking about what happens when you eventually lose, and you can convince yourself it’s going to be the end of the world. But of course it’s not, it’s just sport. So you shake hands, say well done and move on.

What’s a typical day of training like?

I do two hours in the pool in the morning, two hours in the gym later on, then another two hours in the pool after that. The type of training depends on where I am in the season: in winter I work on endurance; then January to April is endurance with some anaerobic work; then April onwards is aerobic as the season approaches. In the gym I focus on the big lifts, so squats and bench presses as well as pull-ups, leg extensions and weighted prowlers. A lot of the gym work is supersets, say five squats followed by five jump squats, to work my muscles harder. Every second of training time has to be accounted for.

What’s the worst thing you have to do in the gym?

The rowing machine. I hate it – it’s all pain and no rest. Remember, the longest time I race for is around 57 to 58 seconds, so long rows are horrific! My heart rate goes so high but I have to just keep going. I do a lot of rowing, treadmill runs and the Wattbike in the off-season to build my endurance. I am a big guy for a swimmer and the bigger you are the more drag there is, so I need to find the right balance between being big and strong while still having the endurance to go the distance.

And what about your diet? How important it is to your success?

Nutrition is such a huge and important factor for me because it has such a huge influence on how I perform. Breakfast is at around 10am of granola with yogurt and a banana, and if I’m feeling a little tired before getting into the water I’ll have a Science In Sport Go Caffeine shot. Lunch is usually chicken with veg or a salad, but will change quite a lot depending which training period I am in. I’ll have my evening meal before 6pm – that will be lean protein and veg too – then I won’t eat again until the following morning. So I am fasting for around 16 hours a day. It was hard at first but your body soon adapts and gets used to it. Once the season is over I will have a blow-out – flapjacks are my favourite, but there’ll be some chocolate and doughnuts and a few bottles of Corona too!

Adam Peaty is an ambassador for leading sports nutrition company Science In Sport. Find out more about its range of endurance products at scienceinsport.com

Peaty’s Pool Fuel

Pre-workout: Get a buzz

Peaty’s advice: Some people prefer a double espresso ahead of a long session but Peaty prefers a portable option. “If I’m a bit tired I’ll have an SiS GO Caffeine shot. It’s got 150mg of caffeine, plus magnesium and B vitamins.”

Mid-workout: Fuel the engine

Peaty’s advice: Keeping your muscle cells topped up with energy and avoiding dehydration is key to a successfully session. “In the gym I might have some SiS BCAA Perform, which has 6g of essential amino acids to keep me fuelled up.”

Mid-workout: Fuel the engine

Peaty’s advice: Whatever your sport, taking on board protein after training helps your muscles recover faster. “I use SiS Whey20, which is 20g of protein in a single-serve tube. It’s easy to carry a couple around in my bag for when I need it.”

Swimming is a phenomenal way to stay fit and active. No-one should need convincing of that. But if you’re a lapsed paddler who learned to swim as a kid and are just coming back to the pool, it can also be phenomenally boring – slogging away at the same speed with the same stroke.

To help make the whole experience more enjoyable and beneficial, Speedo has launched Mind Body Swim, a microsite that offers training plans tailored to four goals and your current level, as well nutritional and well-being advice.

If you just fancy dipping your toe in the water, though, throw one of these four swimming drills taken from Mind Body Swim workouts into your next session. To help you pick, we asked Speedo coach Dan Bullock to break down how each drill will benefit your technique, as well as common mistakes to look out for. But first…

When to do these drills

When you’re in the pool, obviously, but once you’ve warmed up Bullock recommends doing them either before or after a main block of swimming.

Doing them beforehand can help you to perform a stroke to the best of your ability and, as Bullock explains, “it makes sense to perform the drills while in a non-fatigued state so the body can adapt and make changes.”

Alternatively, Bullock says, “drills can also be of use after the main set as a way to polish a tired and exhausted swim technique ahead of leaving the pool. Ideally, you restore your technique ahead of finishing rather than leaving with a deteriorated technique.”

Swimming Drills

Tombstone

This macabre-sounding drill isn’t called the tombstone because it’s killer on the legs (although it could be). The name refers to the vertical position of the float in the water.

What it does: The increase in resistance from holding the board in this way will help to improve your leg strength and if you follow the technique points you’ll also develop a more powerful kick. “The two elements of better technique and strength in your legs will combine with your arm pull to assist your overall swim speed,” says Bullock.

Expert tips: Don’t keep your head up because this action will sink your hips and legs, making moving forwards harder. “Pop up quickly for air and return the head to the water face down,” advises Bullock.

“Start with a small amount of the float submerged. You can easily progress this by submerging the float fully.

“Don’t take bigger kicks thinking this will shift you forwards. Instead, take more frequent smaller kicks to remain streamlined in the water.”

See related 

• The Benefits Of Swimming Will Convince You To Dig Out Your Swimming Costume
• The Best Swimming Goggles
• Two Insanely Helpful Swimming Technique Tips That’ll Make You Enjoy Front Crawl Again

BAFL

Patting your head and rubbing your stomach can baffle your brain, and so can the BAFL drill – initially at least. BAFL is an acronym that stands for breaststroke arms and front crawl legs.

What it does: “Swimming is a highly cerebral process,” says Bullock, “combining timing, rhythm, proprioception [your body’s positional sense], skill and co-ordination. To improve certain movements we can make them more challenging so that the normal movement comes easier.

“Combining breaststroke arms and front crawl legs does this to an extent. By not rotating the body as you would for front crawl you can focus on a continuous leg kick. Often, during full stroke front crawl, the legs develop a pause linked to breathing.”

Expert tips: “The usual issues with this drill are keeping the head up and facing forwards which will increase resistance, combined with an arm movement that is too big,” says Bullock. “During the pull, don’t allow the hands to travel behind the chin. Sweep your hands out, around and into the chin area as you start to look down and push your arms forwards. Kicks should be strong and continuous with no dead spots.”

Punch

Bad news, you do not get to take your pent-up aggression on the water – this drill doesn’t encourage furious splashing (save that for your bath). Worse news, using clenched fists instead of open hands makes swimming as difficult as it sounds. Good news, your front crawl technique is going to improve tremendously.

What it does: “Taking the hand away makes front crawl much harder,” says Bullock. “Everything else needs to work a little harder to compensate. Ideally, it encourages the swimmer to pull with the forearm to offset the missing hand, which promotes an early pivot at the elbow and vertical forearm. The body is very clever at making up for what is missing!

“Vary this by swimming with just one fist clenched for a half-length to note differences in arm movements, pathways under the body and speed of pull.”

Expert tips: “Just because your hand is clenched does not mean your arm pull will be perfect,” cautions Bullock. “Avoid pushing down with a straight arm and pivoting at the shoulder as this will boost the head up and limit forward propulsion. Instead, pivot your arm at the elbow and roll your knuckles to point down early just as your fingertips would with a normal pull.

“Fins might make this a little easier and of course you don’t have to attempt a full length using this drill. Performing two or three strokes with fists clenched before opening and closing them can help you feel a stronger pull on the water.”

Superman

There is nothing wrong with humming the Superman theme tune to yourself while trying this drill that helps you to get a feel for how you should rotate and elongate your body during front crawl. There’s also nothing wrong with using fins and a float – none of us is actual Superman.

What it does: “The perfect front crawl isn’t swum flat with shoulders horizontal to the surface of the water,” says Bullock. “Instead, rotating your upper body from side to side lowers your frontal profile, which creates less drag and elevates the trailing shoulder, enabling easier breathing.

“This simple-looking drill is actually quite tricky to do well but it does encourage an enhanced body position in the water and prompts you to breathe on both sides.”

Expert tips: Work on finding that Goldilocks zone. “If the kick is not quite strong enough then it is not easy to elevate your trailing shoulder above the surface,” says Bullock. “But too much violent kicking will see the upper body and shoulder rocking from side to side.

“Try not to look to the side when performing this drill – you want your face down as you would when swimming the full front crawl. Keep your head still until you need to breathe. Your lead arm should be parallel to the surface but not at the surface pointing up from a lower shoulder position exposing the arm and adding drag.”

For sets, laps and full workouts, sign up for Mind Body Swim at speedo.com

In most forms of self-powered locomotion 5km isn’t far – it’s an hour’s walk, a run of less than half an hour for most, or an even quicker bike ride. It’s a ruddy long way, though, when you’re propelling yourself through water – 2½ hours is a good target for the uninitiated.

That makes it a significant challenge for your average Joe or Josephine, but one that’s eminently achievable if you’ve got a solid base of fitness, some confidence in the pool and Swimathon’s training plans. Of course, don’t talk it down in that way when you’re soliciting sponsorship – “I’m doing 200 lengths of my local 25m pool” sounds much more impressive, as well as having the advantage of being true.

Swimathon is an annual aquatic fundraiser, which this year is supporting Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie. It’s being held in pools across the UK between Friday 27th and Sunday 29th April 2018.

The 5km distance is the longest you can set your sights on, but there are also 400m, 1.5km and 2.5km swims for individuals to take on, while teams of two to people can tackle 1.5km or 5km.

And there’s just the right amount of time for people with decent endurance levels to train for the 5km distance. Swimathon has beginner, intermediate and advanced ten-week training plans for all the distances on its website, and while those with calendars to hand (or who have read the headline on this article) will point out there are only eight weeks before the event, we’ve checked with Jolyon Finck, Swimathon head coach, who put the plans together, and he’s confirmed there’s no reason not to dive straight in at week three.

See related

• The Best Swimming Watches
• The Best Swimming Goggles
• Get Free Swimming Training Plans From Speedo On
• Great Charity Challenges For 2020: Do Good, Feel Good

All of the 5km training plans ask you to put in three (occasionally two) sessions a week. The length of these sessions ranges from 30-75 minutes in the beginner sub-2½hr plan to 60-100 minutes in the advanced sub-1½hr plan.

Finck suggests that people with experience of running or cycling endurance events should be able to transfer that staying power to the water, and swimming novices should see the greatest physical improvement over the course of the plan. Even those who have spent a bit more time in the water should see their skills develop thanks to the various technique drills you’ll tackle.

Of course, if this week’s session on the beginner 5K plan – 70 minutes in the pool, covering 2,250m using a variety of strokes – sounds like too much of an ask, that’s probably an indication that you should sign up for one of the shorter distances. Finck recommends 1.5km as a good starting point for those without a background in endurance sports or who find swimming a significant challenge. This week’s session in the beginner 1.5km plan clocks in at a much more manageable 600m. Whichever distance you choose, Swimathon is a worthwhile challenge that could end up sparking a real passion for the pool.

Swimathon is on 27th-29th April. Find a participating pool and sign up at swimathon.org. £9.75-£26, plus fundraising

If you want to get fitter, sleep sounder, and have higher energy levels then you need to get your feet wet. And your legs. Actually, your entire body. After just four weeks of swimming subjects increased fitness levels by 15%, sleep quality by 40% and overall energy levels by 51%, according to Mindlab International. What’s more, the benefits weren’t just physical: participants reported a 33% decrease in negative emotions and a 35% increase in feelings of positivity, suggesting that a regular swim is one of the best things you can do to improve your physical and mental health.

Here’s how you can become a better swimmer to reap the physical and mental benefits faster, beginning with expert tips from Olympian Steve Parry on how to perfect your freestyle technique.

RECOMMENDED: Benefits of Swimming

Freestyle Swimming Tips

Arm Length

Stretch forward with each arm and re-enter the water fingers first, keeping them fully outstretched, straight and tight together. Use the full length of your arms and keep each stroke as smooth as possible.

Still Head

Keep your head as still as you can, moving it only to the sides to take a breath. The waterline should stay just above your eyebrows.

Breathe Each Side

Breathe out underwater and take in air on both sides, every three or five strokes, to maintain an even stroke and keep a stable head position which helps you stay swimming in a straight line. Too many people try to breathe in and out when their head is to the side, which isn’t efficient.

Body Position

Try to keep your body position straight from head to hips and horizontal when freestyle swimming. That will keep your torso as streamlined as possible and decrease drag through the water.

Leg Action

Take small and regular kicks in the water to complement arm movement and improve your body’s stability. The legs are your engine room so keep them moving fast to avoid them dragging behind you.

RECOMMENDED: Front Crawl Swimming Technique

More Swimming Tips

Observe lane etiquette

If you’re training in a pool, knowing the rules will help keep you and your fellow swimmers safe. “Check if the lane is running clockwise or anti-clockwise, be aware of those around you and always stop to let faster swimmers pass at the end of the lane,” says Sam Williams, a Total Immersion swimming coach at Swim Studio London.

Stay relaxed

Most endurance sports such as cycling and running are all about exertion, but if you’re doing it properly, swimming should be the opposite. “If you’re too tense in the water, you’ll end up thrashing around, wasting energy and tiring yourself out,” says Williams. “Instead, focus on staying balanced in the water and maintaining a relaxed stroke.”

RECOMMENDED: Total Immersion Swimming for Triathletes

Focus your training

Mindlessly drifting up and down the pool for hours isn’t the most productive use of your time. “Aim to do two short, 20- to 30-minute technique sessions during the week where you focus on improving a specific aspect of your stroke, such as your breathing or kicking,” says Williams. “Then do one longer session at the weekend, adding extra lengths or time every week to monitor your progress.”

RECOMMENDED: Get Free Swimming Training Plans From Speedo On

Take to a lake

More UK lakes are now being opened up for swimmers and not only are lakes ideal to swim in, but they also serve as a perfect development stage between the pool and the ocean. “Lakes are great for longer-distance training sessions where you can work on better breathing techniques and stroke improvement work, and they also double as fantastic practice for open-water races,” says Swim For Tri coach Dan Bullock.

RECOMMENDED: How to Start Open-Water Swimming

Warm down and stretch off

“It’s worth allocating an extra five to ten minutes at the end of your session to warm down properly with a few gentle, easy laps,” says personal trainer Aaron Deere. “This will help flush the lactic acid from your muscles to initiate recovery.” Once you’re out of the water, take the time to work on tight muscle groups with dynamic, movement-based stretches. “Lunging forward with one foot while raising both your arms directly above your head will target your chest, hip flexors and shoulders, all of which tend to get tight during swimming,” says Deere.

Refuel afterwards

“Once you’ve finished your swim, replenish your glycogen stores with plenty of quality slow-release carbohydrates like wholegrain rice,” says endurance and nutrition coach Steve Whittle. “You should also have a decent serving of protein such as salmon to help your muscles recover.”

While Strava, Runkeeper and dozens of other fitness apps have ensured that runners and cyclists are catered for when it comes to tracking and social networking, swimmers aren’t as well served.

The main reason for that is obvious – electronics don’t play well with water. However, with even smartphones becoming waterproof nowadays, there’s more scope than ever to help swimmers with a comprehensive tracking and coaching platform.

Speedo aims to claim this space with the beta launch of Speedo On, a website (that’s also slick on a smartphone browser) that syncs with waterproof trackers to provide a one-stop shop for all your tracking and social networking needs. Garmin and Misfit trackers are already compatible, with more expected to follow.

RECOMMENDED: The Best Waterproof Fitness Trackers For Swimmers

But perhaps the most attractive aspect of Speedo On is the variety of training plans available. There’s something to suit the needs of any swimmer, whether you’re aiming to improve the swim section of your triathlon, fine-tuning your front crawl technique, or just trying to get fitter. You can also select a plan based on your availability – the minimum seems to be two workouts a week, while other programmes expect you to hit the pool almost every day.

You don’t need a compatible tracker to log your workouts and follow these plans – you can manually input the data. However, for in-depth analysis a tracker is useful for providing accurate data, swim-specific stats like your SWOLF score, or stepping in when memory fails.

RECOMMENDED: The Benefits Of Swimming

There’s also a series of articles that provide advice on anything and everything to do with swimming, and should Speedo’s plans for a thriving social network of swimmers come to fruition you can expect plenty of motivation and tips from your fellow users. There’s also a Challenges section, where you can complete goals to earn virtual badges. Who doesn’t like a virtual badge?

RECOMMENDED: Two Insanely Helpful Swimming Technique Tips

You can sign up for Speedo On for free at on.speedo.com, which will give you access to a bundle of training plans and analysis. For even more data and the complete range of training plans, there’s a premium option which costs £5.99 a month or £39.99 a year.

It’s been a long time since we had a swimming lesson, something in the region of 20 years, so we’ve forgotten pretty much everything we learned. And despite knowing the many benefits of swimming, we make only the occasional foray to our local pool. When we do, we default to breaststroke since our flailing front crawl leaves us gasping for breath after one length.

So we jumped at the chance to get some expert tuition from Keri-Anne Payne, who’s a two-time world champion and Olympic silver medallist in the open-water swimming 10K, the marathon of the swimming world.

Payne’s supporting the Great Swim, an annual summer series of open-water swimming events across the country. Coach is still a long way from getting the skills needed to take to the great outdoors (sighting, the art of looking where you’re going while swimming, remains beyond us for the time being), but we did pick up some easy-to-follow advice that’s got us back in the pool and cranking out lengths using the freestyle stroke.

Here’s what made the difference. Bad news first: you’re going to have to overcome some fundamental human impulses.

1. Body Position

Keeping your body arrow-straight and perfectly horizontal is crucial to making the freestyle stroke efficient – and efficient means easy (well, easier). Unfortunately there’s a crucial survival impulse that royally mucks this up: wanting to see where you’re going. That means your head goes up, which causes your legs to go down, which increases the drag of your body through the water.

Payne once got an engineer friend to do some calculations and they worked out that swimming through the water with sinking legs is equivalent to pulling along an additional third of a ton.

There are two things you can do to overcome this problem. The first is to get familiar with the feeling of being straight. Payne describes it as being similar to cheating on a height test. You’ll have done this – standing back to back with a friend and straining to be as tall as possible (think “giraffe neck”, says Payne). That’s the feeling you’re aiming to replicate – just horizontally.

To get there when you’re in the pool, look straight down at the bottom – the water should break somewhere around your crown. There’s a sweet spot that takes a bit of experimentation to discover, but once you’ve found it you’ll be amazed at how quickly a length flies by.

2. Breathing

Body position is crucial, but right now your body is probably trying to point out that breathing is the most crucial thing. There’s nothing like being under water to induce the desire to get as much of that sweet, sweet air in your lungs as soon possible the next time you surface. Anyone who’s ever learnt how to scuba dive will know that controlling your breathing under water is one of the hardest things to master.

But as Payne points out, you wouldn’t take a huge breath, hold it, then blow everything out when you run, so this shouldn’t be how you breathe when you swim. Instead you’re looking to breathe calmly – Payne recommends breathing out through the nose, because it’s harder to empty your lungs through your beak.

The more we worked on keeping to relaxed, steady, regular breathing, the more we found our stroke becoming smoother as a byproduct, and we didn’t have to stop to catch our breath every time we touched the side.

There are, of course, many more ways to improve your swimming, but we found these two things made such a big difference to our swimming (and took a fair bit of practice to master) that they provided the perfect motivation to get back in the pool.

RECOMMENDED: An Olympic Triathlete’s Guide To Front Crawl Swimming Technique

If you fancy dipping your toe into the open water visit greatswim.org for more information or to enter an event this summer. The Suunto Great London Swim is staged on Saturday 1st July 2017 at Royal Victoria Dock, entry is open through Wednesday 28th June

The technology available to amateur runners and cyclists nowadays is pretty incredible. Using any number of free cycling or running apps you can spend hours analysing your activities, drilling down into details on splits, cadence, power, heart rate and more.

Swimmers can be forgiven for being jealous of landlubber athletes, because there aren’t as many tech products that can hack it in the water. There are, however, the best swimming watches offer the tech-savvy swimmer a fix, and one of the key swim-specific metrics on these trackers is your SWOLF score.

For more info on what SWOLF is and how you can use it to improve your swimming, we spoke to Dan Bullock, swimming coach and founder of Swim For Tri.

What is SWOLF?

SWOLF is the combination of your stroke count and time taken in the water and is often used as a measure of your swimming efficiency.

“Swimmers have been adding these two numbers together for years and thinking of it as ‘Swim Golf’ or SWOLF, because lowering the score is the objective,” says Bullock. “In general you swim 25-50m, so one or two lengths, and count the strokes and the time taken.”

Why is it important?

The basic idea of SWOLF is that the fewer strokes and less time you take, the more efficient your are in the water.

“If you are swimming on your own without a coach or group and want some kind of personal evaluation then SWOLF can help,” explains Bullock. “Swimming faster will improve your SWOLF but, equally, swimming with better technique can lower your stroke count and improve your score.”

SWOLF is better than simply counting strokes because you can lower the amount of strokes taken by gliding along in the water. This slows you down, something the SWOLF score will indicate.

“As your swimming technique improves you should get faster,” says Bullock. “The two go hand in hand. However, you can also lower your stroke count by swimming slowly or gliding excessively, so you’re not actually swimming faster. It’s when you add a time factor that SWOLF can be of use.”

What is a good score?

It’s tricky to compare SWOLF scores with other swimmers because individuals have different physical attributes. It’s better to focus on improving by bringing your own score down.

“Meaningful comparisons with others aren’t easy,” says Bullock. “Because we are all different heights and have different limb lengths, we have differing stroke mechanics.

“An initial objective I suggest for many of my adult improvers is to focus on travelling 1m with each stroke – it’s an easier way to get started with swimming stats. Adding time then creates a new variable to play with.”

Bearing in the mind the caveats regarding size and limb length (and indeed accuracy issues with swimming trackers) an amateur swimmer managing a SWOLF score of 35-45 over 25m is likely to be in great shape. If you are looking for a SWOLF score to marvel at, legendary Russian sprinter Alexander Popov is said to hold the unofficial world record, as Bullock explains: “Rumour has it the Olympic champion Alex Popov managed 25 seconds at 20 strokes for a score of 45 in a 50m pool!”

How do you track your SWOLF score?

You can count your stroke in your head and use a stopwatch or clock in the pool for time, but dedicated swimming trackers are now capable of calculating your SWOLF score.

“Many fitness watches now incorporate some kind of swim measurements, tracking or metrics,” says Bullock.

“Some pure swim watches will offer distance and lengths swum, time and distance in the water, and strokes taken so they can calculate SWOLF or what they call swim efficiency.”

However, swimming trackers are notorious for accuracy issues and it’s important to set them up before you start your session, especially if you’re not swimming in a standard length pool.

“The watches incorporate an accelerometer which measures change in speed off each wall so it is important to set them up correctly to track the right pool length,” says Bullock.

“Many watches seem to get easily confused and while many users swear by them, I hear of just as many who are frustrated by them. I asked one of my swimmers recently how many lengths of his warm-up had he done. He tapped his watch for help and announced 375m. I asked why he wasn’t at the other end of the pool.”

It’s never a bad idea to mix up the exercise you’re doing. A varied routine will not only stop boredom setting in but also ensure you don’t work one part of your body into the ground while leaving another entirely untouched.

Runners in particular are a group who can definitely benefit from adding other exercise to their routine. You can mix up your runs in all kinds of ways – pace, terrain, distance – but they’ll still put a lot of pressure on the same muscles and joints. Over time you’ll find that the improvement in your running may stall if you don’t mix it up with other exercise.

Swimming is an excellent complementary activity to running. It helps develop whole-body strength and cardio fitness without putting any pressure on the joints that suffer when you’re pounding the pavements.

A recent survey conducted by OnePoll on 1,572 people who run and swim found that 86% of them said swimming helps enhance their running performance and 90% said they feel fitter and stronger when they combine swimming with running.

Speedo commissioned the OnePoll survey to support its new campaign #Make1KWet, which is designed to get runners and cyclists into the pool by targeting their competitive streak. The idea is simple: can you swim 1K as fast as you run 5K or cycle 10K?

Assuming you’ve spent years honing your running skills to bring your 5K time down, you almost certainly won’t be able to jump in the pool and match it over a 1K swim first time out. To help build up to your fastest 1K swim, former international triathlete and duathlete Annie Emmerson has designed three training plans for Speedo.

The training plans are pitched at beginner, intermediate and advanced level and each lasts three months, by the end of which you’ll be a force to be reckoned with over 1K in the water.

First you’ll need to determine which category you fall into by swimming 100m at around 90% of your fastest pace. Then check your times against the below to see which plan you should opt for.

Beginner: 2min 30sec+
Intermediate: 2min to 2min 30sec
Advanced: Under 2min

Once you’ve worked out your level, head to speedo.com to download the appropriate 1K plan: Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.

If the last time someone coached you through your lengths your eyes were firmly on the prize of another Frosties badge to adorn your towel, then it might be time to give your swimming a shake up with this new water-workout from Speedo.

Britain’s pools are a great underused resource, and are being shut down at a rate of knots. For years now, gyms have been bursting at the seams with treadmill pounding calorie-burners after their cardio fix, while half-empty pools are filled largely with middle-aged women bobbing through their breaststroke or Aqua Zumba and that one angry office worker attempting to take his midweek frustrations out on a length of vicious, splashy butterfly.

RECOMMENDED: The Benefits of Swimming

Speedo and Virgin Active are hoping to ride the wave of Team GB’s Rio success and get the nation swimming with their new Hydro class. This is swimming – but not as you know it. Forget fitting in a session of leisurely lengths before retiring for a congratulatory sauna, this is hard, and will leave you out of breath and probably sweating – although the general wetness makes it hard to tell.

With the aim of making you think of the pool with the same attitude as you see the gym floor, these weekly sessions – which cater to all abilities, adapting the distance for your swimming strength – recognise that without a coach to motivate you into completing your lengths it is all too easy to slip off halfway through.

The coach motivates you just like a spinning class, encouraging everyone to give their all as they take you through an ever-changing routine designed to build your swimming strength and burn calories (an estimated 300 in half an hour).

RECOMMENDED: Swimming Workouts

Coaches are on hand to offer you tips on your technique and work in some intense games to mix things up, to show you that interval training can be done in the pool. Other strategies include getting you to climb out of the pool at the end of each length to practise that swim-to-stand transition so essential for triathlons. It’s hard, and it’s meant to be, hoping to challenge your notions of the pool and have you looking at the water with the same trepidation inspired by the treadmill.

We found it a bit of a shock to the system. Coach swims regularly but leisurely, and found itself quickly out of breath, but the coaches were great at switching the difficulty up to cater for the different fitness levels. It’s a good way to work in some cardio that targets the upper body and arms, and Coach was feeling it in the shoulders by the end of the class.

The benefits of swimming are numerous, but the trouble with pools is they make it all too easy to stick to the same pace and number of lengths each session. Not only is that boring but, worse, it won’t make you any fitter or faster.

Introducing training methods such as intervals and heart rate sessions will help you develop greater speed, endurance and technique in the water, especially essential if you’re training for a triathlon. You’ll also be able to structure your sessions to fit easier workouts into your training programme, a change that will give your body the time it needs to recover and become stronger. Here are the key sessions you should include.

Intervals

Interval sessions are periods of high-intensity swimming punctuated by periods of recovery and should form a substantial part of your training. They allow you to fit more challenging work into your session than if you tried to do it all continuously. The aim is to raise your heart rate during the high-effort segments so your body gets used to working at higher intensities and adapts to deal with this added workload. There are several ways you can adjust the structure of your intervals to keep them fresh and make them progressively more difficult.

Distance: You can increase the distance of the interval and train yourself to swim further at the same high intensity. For example, you could start in week one of a programme by swimming 4x200m and increase it each week so you are doing 4x300m in week four.

Time: You can vary the time you have to complete an interval so that you swim a set distance in a progressively faster time. You could start by giving yourself 2min 30sec to swim 100m in the first week of your new programme and increase the pace so that by the fourth week you cover the same distance in 1min 45sec.

Number of reps: As you improve you can increase the number of reps you swim during a session. Say you start by being able to swim 5x100m front crawl in your first session before reaching exhaustion. By week four you should aim to complete 8x100m.

Aim time: These intervals are structured so that you have a total interval time and an ‘aim time’ by which you want to complete a set distance. If you have a two-minute interval with a 1min 45sec aim time, you would have 15 seconds’ rest. You can then reduce the aim time to swim at a faster pace but with more rest repetitions.

RECOMMENDED: Swimming Tips

Heart-rate sessions

Instead of being based on time, these sessions are distances swum at a target heart rate, which will be a percentage of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age). They build endurance and allow you time to refine your technique. An example of this session would be to swim 8x100m at 80% of your maximum heart rate with a resting period interval of 60%. This means your heart should be at 80% by the time you finish 100m and then you rest until it returns to 60%.

Negative splits

These sessions are great for improving your ability to finish a race strongly, because the aim is to complete the second half of the workout faster than the first. So in a 400m session you’d aim to swim the final 200m quicker than the first 200m.

Build swims

In a build swim you gradually increase the pace and effort over a set distance. This session type is useful if you want to improve your ability to control your pace, which is vital in triathlon racing. As you tire, your instinct will be to slow down, but these sessions build discipline to stick to a set pace and then push yourself harder. A typical build swim could be 6x200m with the first two lots of 200m at 60% effort, the next two at 70% and the final two at 80%.

Broken swims

These are swum faster than race pace to improve raw speed. You try to beat your best time for a distance by breaking it into chunks. So, in a 25m pool, if your best time for 100m is 80sec you would aim to complete each length in less than 20sec, with a 5sec rest between lengths.

In This Series

• Olympic Training Tips from the Greats
• Track Cyclist Joanna Rowsell Shand
• Boxer Josh Kelly
• Swimmer James Guy
• Triathlete Gordon Benson
• Rower Helen Glover
• Triple Jumper Nathan Fox
• Slalom Canoeist Joe Clarke
• How To Train Like An Olympian

James Guy is a member of the Team GB swimming squad heading to Rio this summer. Specialising in the 200m and 400m freestyle, he’s a world and Commonwealth champion – and he’s hoping to add an Olympic Games medal to his haul

I've been training for Rio most of my life. I first got in the water when I was around three and had lessons at school from the age of five.

For the 200m and 400m freestyle, I try to target my pecs, lats and specific back muscles in training to help me engage with the water. The 200m is about being able to go out strong and having the ability to hold it. For the 400m you also need endurance so you can finish fast.

I train 11 times a week. On a Monday I do two pool sessions, two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. Tuesday is the same again but with a weights session in between. Wednesday I do a three-and-a-half-hour session of circuits first, then a two-hour swim. Thursday is a single two-hour afternoon session and Friday is a two-hour swim followed by cardio for an hour. To finish the week off it's two hours in the pool on a Saturday morning. Sunday is my day off!

In the Tuesday morning weights session I do weighted chin-ups, which are really hard, and press-ups with up to 70kg on my back. In recovery sessions we get the underwater cameras out and go through technique to see what I can improve on.

Friday’s cardio can get quite intense. My sessions are a mixture of running, rowing and cycling on the static bike. I build my heart rate in ten-minute blocks of each and repeat.

There’s no need to fix something that isn’t broken. My training in the run-up to Rio will stay the same.

On a Saturday morning I have a McDonald’s breakfast as a treat, but I generally eat really well and try not to have too much rubbish food. During the week I usually have the same breakfast and lunch every day. I have a big breakfast – porridge then three or four poached eggs and a couple of bagels. Lunch is salmon or chicken with lots of veg and pasta. I obviously burn a lot of calories in training, so my diet includes a lot of carbs and protein.

I’ve never really had a problem getting motivated but I do sometimes talk with a sports psychologist, Bill Beswick, at British Swimming to get a bit of an edge. He’s incredible – we talk about my presence when walking into the arena, having the mindset of a champion, and also how to take positives from past experiences.  

Just before racing, I listen to music because it keeps me calm and relaxed and I need that. I usually listen to R&B and soul.

The thing I’m most looking forward to about Rio is racing against the best athletes in the world and enjoying the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m also looking forward to watching the athletics and beach volleyball.

“If you do triathlons then being a good swimmer is really important to getting a great start in races,” says Don. “But even if you'd never consider entering a swimming race, hitting the water on a regular basis is simply a great way to work your upper body and your heart and lungs in a very low-impact way. Swimming is also a great way to spend a recovery session after a heavy run, ride or weights session. Here’s how to perfect your front crawl, the fastest swimming stroke, in these simple steps.”

RECOMMENDED: Benefits of Swimming

Body position

A flat, high body position creates the least amount of resistance. Your head should be still throughout the stroke, unless you're breathing in. When you breathe, pivot your head to one side so that you look no higher that the side of the pool.

Upper-body rotation

Rotating your trunk allows your powerful back muscles to initiate the stroke and rotating properly allows you to achieve a longer reach at the front of the stroke, making each one more efficient. Rotation starts at the shoulders and tapers down the body so your legs should only rotate slightly. Your shoulders should rotate from one near-vertical position to the other, but not as far as 90˚. Imagine a spit running through the middle of your body and rotate around that line.

Kick

Your legs are responsible for around ten per cent of your forward propulsion. Leg kick comes from the hip flexors and glutes, not your knees, and should go no deeper than the depth of your body. Keep your legs close together and as straight as possible. Keep your ankles relaxed and your feet extended for maximum efficiency.

Breathing

Use bilateral breathing, which is taking a breath every third, fifth or, if you have phenomenal lung power, seventh stroke. Breathing on alternate sides will develop a more symmetrical swimming stroke. Focus on rotating your neck to the side, rather than lifting your head high out of the water, which will disrupt your body position and balance.

Arm cycle

• Your hand should enter the water in line with your shoulder, midway between your head and the full extension of your opposite arm.
• Your hand enters the water fingertip first, then your palms travel forward under and parallel to the water's surface. When your arm is fully extended your head should be tucked into your armpit.
• Now pivot at the elbow, rather than the shoulder, and keep your wrist and hand firm to act as a paddle.
• Your hand now passes down your central bodyline, accelerating as it goes. Keep your hand close to your body and finish with your arm fully extended next to your hip.
• The final stage begins with your other elbow exiting the water to begin the next stroke. Keep it high with your hand underneath. Good upper-body rotation will ensure this happens.

Few sports incite apprehension in novices quite like swimming, which is understandable, as it’s very difficult to drown or be eaten by a shark on even your very first attempt at jogging.

One sure-fire way to help overcome your pool paranoia and make swimming more enjoyable is to go with other people. Swim Dem Crew is a relaxed swimming club for all levels that meets in lidos and pools all over London each week. Coach spoke with co-founder Peigh Asante to find out more about Swim Dem Crew’s origins and ethos.

RECOMMENDED: Benefits of Swimming

How did Swim Dem Crew get started?

It started by circumstance – I got injured running, and the physio suggested that I should swim as part of my rehabilitation. I saw that [Swim Dem Crew co-founders] Nathanial and Emily were swimming loads as well, as when I went to the pool all I’d ever seen were mums and babies, and people over 60, so I was shocked that there were people my age swimming.

Emily and I just started swimming all the time, every Saturday,and it just organically grew from there to be honest. It was never a premeditated thing, it just sort of happened. People would join us and, eventually, it got to a point where it just grew and then we started putting the word out.

Were you a complete beginner at the start?

Yeah, a complete novice.

How long did it take you to get good at swimming?

It took maybe four months to have the confidence to do a triathlon [Peigh’s first triathlon was at Dorney Lake in Eton in 2013], but my swimming was really terrible, looking back on it, my swimming was absolutely sh*t. But I still did it.

RECOMMENDED: Total Immersion Swimming for Triathletes

Why do you think people are apprehensive about swimming?

There’s a lot of faffing about. With running you sort of put on your shoes and hit the road. With swimming there’s a lot more involved, and plus, it’s the one sport where you really do have to leave your ego at the front door. With running you can stop or go as slow as you want, with swimming you don’t really have that.

Is there a key ethos at Swim Dem Crew?

There’s not one in particular, but we want people to be daring and willing to go into the unknown. It’s about challenging yourself, so we always try and encourage swimmers to push a little bit further and embrace it like a child. When you’re childlike you don’t really develop the notion of fear or anything like that, you just do it and then think about it after, and that’s something that we definitely try to encourage at Swim Dem.

What’s the best way to get involved?

Every Saturday we tour – we put a poll on Twitter, and the people decide where we swim. So vote, get involved in that poll, decide where we swim then meet us on that Saturday.

Do you have any advice to give people nervous about swimming?

Just do it! Don’t overthink it, we spend a lot of time planning, thinking and not enough time executing.

RECOMMENDED: Adult Swimming Lessons and Pools in London

For more info head to swimdemcrew.co.uk or follow them on Twitter and Instagram

 In This Series

• Great Open-Water Swimming Challenges
• How to Start Open-Water Swimming
• Interviews with Open-Water Swimmers
  

It’s often cold and deep and there’s no side to cling to – but ditching the pool for the call of the wild is well worth the effort. Swimming in the great outdoors has grown in popularity in recent years, in no small part due to the increased infrastructure. So Coach spoke to the mermen who have swam some of the great stretches of open water – Martin Strel and Lewis Pugh – to ask them about their experiences.

Open-Water Swimmer Martin Strel

Martin “The Big River Man” Strel, 61, has swum them all – including the Danube, the Mississippi and the Amazon. He explains how.

When did you realise you had a skill for swimming long distances?

I was born in a small town in Slovenia where we didn’t watch TV and there was no radio, just nature. So you had 40 or 50 kids together every day. There were rivers which we fished in and swam in. We had competitions and I would beat all the other kids. We became strong swimmers and would regularly swim under water for almost two minutes. It was nothing for us.

What’s the hardest river you’ve swum?

The most dangerous river on the planet, the Amazon. All rivers are unpredictable, but the Amazon is the Amazon. You have to have a very good team behind you for a swim like that.

How did you prepare?

You have to be almost like a scientist before you jump into the water, there are so many animals to learn about. I knew everything about all of them… apart from stingrays. My son was bitten by a stingray when we were in the middle of the jungle, but we were lucky, he survived.

Did you encounter any other beasts?

I touched a crocodile by accident. Can you imagine what that feels like? And he didn’t even bite me. Crocs are aggressive but if you understand their routine, you should be OK. They only look for food in the morning and overnight.

How do you endure such a long swim?

I swam for 66 days straight – before the start, you have to be very mentally strong, you have to be in the water every day. If you’re sick or you’re tired, it doesn’t matter – you have to swim. There were problems in my boat. People got terribly sick with malaria and I had stomach problems. There was a parasite in my body but I never stopped swimming. I can swim with one hand, one leg.

Do you have any advice for people swimming enormous distances?

You have to be physically ready, you have to be confident and you have to be prepared for different temperatures. Swim 6km every morning, and train 100% every day, not 60, 70, 80%. If you get sick or tired, don’t complain, do it. Every day it gets a bit easier. That’s life.

It sounds tiring.

It is. But why is Mercedes such a good car? Because they care about every single element in it. What’s the difference between Michael Phelps and the swimmer who comes second? They eat the same food, train the same, swim in the same water. But he’s better mentally.

What is your World Swim all about?

We’re trying to organise a swim around the planet to raise ecological awareness. We want to show how important this planet is and how polluted it is. We have more money, but less and less drinking water. I want to drink tap water all over the planet, which is impossible today. My World Swim is to raise awareness. I swim for peace, friendship and clean water.

Can you drink from any of the rivers you've swum?

You can drink the Danube, it’s better than tap water.

The Martin Strel–established Strel Swimming Adventures offers open-water swimming holidays in the Mediterranean

Interview by Josh Burt

Swim the Channel in Your Local Pool

As part of the eternal battle against diabetes, Swim22 is encouraging people to raise money for Diabetes UK by swimming 22 miles (35.4km), the equivalent of a cross-Channel swim. It’s not necessary to do it all in one go, or even alone – teams, clubs and schools can join in. And it’s certainly not a requirement to grease up and get in the world’s busiest shipping lane to do it: you can rack up the lengths at your local pool. Even learner swimmers can participate by doing a width at a time. As long as you accumulate a total of 22 miles between 22nd February and 22nd May 2016, you’re good to go. diabetes.org.uk/swim22

Open-Water Swimmer Lewis Pugh

In 2006 ocean advocate Lewis Pugh, who’s been called “the Edmund Hillary of swimming”, decided it was time someone swam the length of London’s most beautiful feature.

What led you to consider swimming the Thames?

I wanted to highlight the impact that climate change was having on the UK. Climate change is not just something that is happening in the Arctic and the Himalayas. In 2006, the UK had its worst drought ever – so much so that the Thames stopped flowing in the summer. I had to run the first 42km of the river, as there was no water in it.

Did you make the kind of splash you were hoping for?

Yes, it received huge media attention. So much so that Tony Blair, who was still the Prime Minister then, asked to meet me when I swam through London. We discussed what I was seeing, in terms of climate change, in the Arctic and Antarctic. Shortly afterwards, Blair introduced the Climate Change Bill to Parliament and appointed the first climate change minister in the UK. I was not the only person calling for these changes, but I hope the pictures of me swimming down a dried-out river in the middle of England contributed to the discussions.

What part of the swim was the most difficult?

It’s a long river. It’s 202 miles [325km] from its source in Gloucestershire to the North Sea. As the river had stopped flowing, it was a long slog! It took me 21 days to complete. I had to swim the equivalent of half the English Channel every day.

What obstacles did you face on the busiest part of the Thames?

The Port of London Authority wanted to stop the swim. They even threatened to arrest me. They said swimming through London was too dangerous and I might get sucked under due to “dangerous currents”. Given where I have swum in the world, I didn’t think this was their strongest argument. So I just cracked on and swam to the North Sea. After an anti-elitist campaigner [Trenton Oldfield] dived in front of the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race in 2012, the Port of London enacted a law that prohibits swimming in the Thames from Putney to Gravesend. So I will unfortunately be the only person to swim the full length of the Thames. It’s sad, because it’s a great swim.

How did it feel to reach the end of your mission?

Physically, I was exhausted. Mentally as well. It was the certainly one of the toughest swims of my life up at that point.

Lewis Pugh is the United Nations Patron of the Oceans. He’s currently preparing to undertake a series of swims in Antarctica. lewispugh.com

Interview by Stuart Messham

Some people are only really happy swimming distances more frequently covered by shipping, so we spoke to the people who’ve conquered some of the greatest open-water swimming challenges to find out what it's like and why they do it. 

We've also interviewed two open-water swimmers who've tackled the Thames and the Amazon, respectively. If that's inspired you, read on for tips for the beginner and four UK open-air water events to try. 

Oceans Seven

The swimmers’ equivalent of the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge, Oceans Seven was devised in 2008 and involves crossing seven of the world’s toughest oceans: the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland, the Cook Strait in New Zealand, the Molokai Channel in Hawaii, the English Channel, the Catalina Channel in California, the Tsugaru Strait in Japan and the Strait of Gibraltar. Adam Walker was the first Brit to conquer this ultimate swimming challenge, one of only six people to do so. adamwalkeroceans7.co.uk

Err, why?

I swam on and off as a kid, then in 2006 I watched a movie on a plane about swimming the Channel and thought, “I wonder if I can do that?” I jumped in a pool and started training. The English Channel was my goal, but as soon as I’d done it I wanted to do more. It turns out that swimming the Channel I actually had a ruptured bicep tendon. I had two operations and invented a new swimming stroke using the hips, which generates more power and takes pressure off the shoulder, and I then swam the Gibraltar Straits, becoming the first Brit to swim it both ways. Around that time the Oceans Seven Challenge was devised, so that became my goal.

How do you train for something like that?

I was a kettle and toaster salesman at the time. In the winter I’d do 4-5km of speed work in the pool and at the weekend I’d do 10-14km swims. As it got warmer I’d be swimming up to six hours outside. I’d usually do one or two sessions in the gym a week too, working on muscular endurance. It’s a lot of time when you’re working so I was constantly knackered.

Which was the toughest swim?

It’s joint between Hawaii and Japan. In Hawaii I got stung by a Portuguese man o’war. I had to pull its tentacles off my stomach, I vomited up a lot of the poison but my spine went numb for about an hour. Because of strong currents we got lost and I had to swim an extra 11 miles in agony. It took all the mental positivity I had to get through. Even now I’m in disbelief I made it.

My shoulder packed in during the Catalina Channel and I ended up swimming for six hours with one arm. When I got back I had a third operation and then with nine weeks training swam Japan. The Tsugaru Strait has the toughest currents in the world. I had four hours of massive swells and was constantly being sick, then for the next 11 and-a-half hours I had to do 30 minutes of sprinting and five minutes normal speed to get through the currents.

So why do you do it?

It’s the ultimate test of yourself. I love the challenge and being out with nature. In New Zealand a pod of dolphins swam with me. After half an hour I looked down and there was a shark underneath and I realised the dolphins were protecting me, it was incredible. All those swims I’d been through were worth it, I’d do them all again just to experience that.

Man vs Ocean by Adam Walker (John Blake, £12.99), buy on Amazon

ÖTILLÖ SwimRun World Championships

A gruelling mix of running and swimming, ÖTILLÖ (island to island in Swedish) came about after a drunken bet when friends challenged each other to swim and run across 26 islands in the Stockholm archipelago. Ranked as one of the toughest endurance races in the world, competitors enter in pairs swimming 10km and running 65km of trails wearing wetsuits and running shoes for both. Adventurer Anna McNuff took part in a mixed pair with friend Tom Williams. Sweden, 5th September 2016, otilloswimrun.com

Why ÖTILLÖ?

We were on the hunt for something a bit different. We thought ÖTILLÖ sounded brilliant and the location looked stunning. If you’re going to put yourself through pain you might as well have nice scenery to look at.

How did you train?

We swam in Shepperton Lake in Middlesex. We’d get out and run laps then get back in and swim again. The biggest thing was learning how to swim in trainers and run in a wetsuit.

What was the toughest bit?

The first swim was really rough and congested and there was a helicopter above that was making the water even choppier. I just thought, “What have I done? I’m in way over my head”. But the swimmers spread out after that and it all calmed down.

So it was tough, but was it fun?

It’s the best one-day race I’ve ever done. The islands are beautiful. The atmosphere is incredible too. It’s got a really special, homely feel. SwimRun events are getting more popular so I hope it doesn’t change.

The Channel Swim

The 21-mile stretch of water between England and France has become one of the most iconic swimming challenges in the world, but don’t underestimate just how tough it is – the average solo crossing time is 13 hours, 30 minutes. With 34 crossings under his belt, Kevin Murphy, secretary of the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation, holds the record for the most crossings by a male. cspf.co.uk

What was it about the Channel that attracted you?

As a kid I never won swimming races but I found I could swim further, if not faster, than others so I started doing long-distance open-water swimming. I did three miles, six miles, ten miles… but the English Channel is the big one, the thing long-distance swimmers all over the world measure themselves by. It’s cold, it can be rough and unpleasant, it tests you to the absolute limit, but unlike many oceans there’s nothing in there that’s going to eat you, so it’s become for swimmers like Everest is for climbers or Wembley for footballers.

When did you first swim the Channel?

My first escapade was a relay swim in 1965 when we set the then record for the fastest crossing. 1968 was my first solo one-way crossing and 1970 was my first two-way crossing. I’ve now done 28 single crossings and three doubles, 34 in all.

What is it about the Channel that kept you going back?

After I did my first one-way crossing there was a huge sense of anti-climax. I’d put so much effort into it all of a sudden it was over. The first reaction when you finish is, “Never again”, then 10 minutes later you start thinking about what you can do next. At that stage no Brit had done a two-way crossing so I did that. Then I thought no one’s ever done a three-way crossing. Everyone said it wasn’t possible, which was like a red rag to a bull.

Did you manage the three-way?

In 1975 I got to two-and-a-half crossings, swimming for 52 hours non-stop and eventually it was the support boat that gave up rather than me.

How do you train for the swim?

Ideally you need to train for at least two or three years. Swimmers will usually do three weekends swimming in Dover before their Channel attempt with a seven-hour swim one day and six hours the next.

What’s the toughest bit?

The toughest bit isn’t physical. You push your body way past its abilities so it becomes mental. This is not a competition for speed, this is you against it. You need to overcome the doubts and demons in your head. It would be so easy to touch the boat, which you’re not allowed to do if you want to continue, and give up.

And what’s the best?

Finishing. Knowing you’ve overcome all your own frailties and whatever nature can throw at you and you’ve conquered it.

Tempted to have one last go?

I’m 67 now. I’ve got an artificial shoulder and I had a heart attack in 2009, which makes it more problematic but I haven’t given up yet, the record for the oldest Channel swimmer is 73 after all.

Red Bull Neptune Steps

An aquatic assault course, Red Bull Neptune Steps claims to be the toughest open-water swimming race in the UK. Competitors sprint 420m upstream through Glasgow’s Maryhill Locks, clambering 18m over eight locks using cargo nets, ropes and ladders. Swimmer and kite surfer Mark Deans was crowned champion in the inaugural event in 2015. He’ll be defending his win at this year’s race. Glasgow, redbull.com

So Mark, why did you decide to take on Neptune Steps?

It’s only five minutes down the road from me and it sounded like a really unique race. It’s a bit like Tough Mudder for swimmers.

How did you train?

I train ten times a week anyway as I’m on the British and Scottish open-water swimming teams, so I hoped my swimming would see me through and I’d just deal with the obstacles when I came to them.

What was the toughest bit?

The cold, the water was only nine degrees as it was the end of March. The obstacles weren’t too bad because I managed to get a big enough lead that I wasn’t having to jostle for position to get over them but there was cold water crashing down in my face as I climbed.

Hmm, it doesn’t sound that enjoyable…

Oh it was. There was a really nice like-minded group of people and everyone was supporting each other, well, once they were out of the water, it’s a competition at the end of the day. It was really well organised as well. There were heats, semi-finals and finals so I ended up doing it three times. I’m going back for more this year.

Manhattan Island Marathon Swim [MIMS]

At 28.5 miles (46km) the MIMS is the world’s longest marathon swimming event. Swimmers must be invited to compete and need to have completed the English Channel swim in the two years prior to entry. Most swimmers will take between seven and nine hours to complete the course. Originally from Bridlington, swimming and triathlon coach Paul Newsome (swimsmooth.com) now lives in Perth, Australia. He won the MIMS in 2013. New York, 4th June 2016, nycswim.org

What was it about the MIMS that attracted you?

I’ve been swimming competitively since the age of seven. After a stint as a University Triathlon champion I moved to Australia as a swimming and triathlon coach and started getting into long-distance marathon swims. I swam the Channel in 2011, completed the 20km Rottnest Channel Swim in Australia, and the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim was another life-long goal.

How did you train for the race?

I have a young family and a full-time job so I needed to fit my training around that. My plan covered ten weeks and included work on technique, endurance swims of up to 20km and hard, 10km open-water swims.

What was the race itself like?

I’d been warned about dirty waters but, despite being the coldest MIMS on record – the water was 14 degrees rather than the usual 20, which is colder than the English Channel in summer season – it felt a lovely temperature and quite blue so I really enjoyed it. I was feeling really strong, but was amazed to find around two hours in that I was second. From then on I decided I wanted to win and I just put my head down and swam really hard.

What was the toughest bit?

I’d been warned that for many swimmers the huge George Washington Bridge can appear just an arm’s reach away for a very long time. I looked at it once and then didn’t look at it again until I could see its shadow overhead so that it couldn’t play with my mind. The last hour or so I had pains in my wrist and niggles in my shoulder, but I was never so tired I didn’t think I’d complete it.

How did you feel when you’d won?

Amazing. I wouldn’t let myself believe it until I touched the orange buoy where we’d started from. I was on cloud nine for weeks. Out of 42 that started only 11 officially finished the race and I was the first!

How To Start Open-Water Swimming

Unsure about taking the leap from pool to open water? Team GB age group triathlete, former GB pool and open-water swimmer, and swim coach, John Wood addresses some common fears.

How to cope with the cold

In colder temperatures you’ll probably want to wear a wetsuit, which keeps you warm and helps with buoyancy, too. But wetsuit or not, make sure you acclimatise to cold water slowly. Try not to rush to warm up when you enter the water, as this will spike your heart rate and breathing, and make you more likely to panic. Instead move slowly and gradually get the heart pumping.

How to see where you’re going

You’ll have marker buoys to guide you, but you’ll have to lift your head and look forwards to see them. This is known as sighting. Practice sighting during training to get used to the technique, then on race day aim to lift your head every six-10 strokes or so to make sure you’re still going in the right direction.

How to deal with other swimmers

Instead of heading for the back, where you may get stuck behind slower swimmers, try beginning on the outskirts of the pack. That way you catch the drafting effect (think cyclists riding behind each other to hide from the wind), but you have enough space to swim freely and feel comfortable.

How to get your wetsuit on and off

Lubricant products like Body Glide will help with getting the suit on and minimise chafing around the neck and armpits. Try to avoid using Vaseline as it can break down the wetsuit material.

For coaching enquiries visit tri-coaching.co.uk. You can follow John on Twitter.

Adam Walker’s Open-Water Swimming Tips

The things that typically worry people about swimming in open water are fear of the cold, being out of your depth and what dangerous marine life might be under you. My advice is to avoid dwelling on the negative side and focus on the goal. I push thoughts of danger out of my head and concentrate on what it will feel like once I’ve finished. Don’t even think the word ‘cold’. Instead consciously think positive thoughts so there’s no space for negative ones.

When you’re swimming a long distance you don’t think of it as a 17-hour swim, you think of it as lots of half-hour swims. Mentally breaking up the swim is useful if you’re struggling. Focus on your technique. Think, ‘I’m going to do 60 strokes and see how that goes’. Once you’re done, do another 60. That focus takes your mind away from everything else.

5 Achievable Open-Water Swimming Challenges

Not quite ready to swim seven oceans yet? Try these open-air water events for size.

Love SwimRun Llanberis, North Wales

In Wales’ first SwimRun event, competitors complete four lake swims totalling 3.5km and four runs covering 12.5km around Snowdonia. 17th June 2023, loveswimrun.co.uk

Henley Classic

Celebrating midsummer, this 2.1km swim in the Thames takes place at dawn on the stretch of water used for the Henley Royal Regatta. 29th July 2023, henleyswim.com

Great North Swim

Brought to you by the people behind the Great Run series, the Great North Swim is the largest open-water event in the UK. Take on a challenge that suits your level, choose from 250m, a half mile, one mile, two miles, 5k and 10k distances at Windemere in the Lake District. 9-11th June 2023, greatswim.org/great-north-swim/

South London Swimming Club Aquathon Series

Like a triathlon but without the cycle, swim 1km in London’s longest lido and then run 6.4km around Tooting Bec Common. 25nd May, 8th June, 22nd June, 6th July 2022, slsc.org.uk

Swimming is low-impact, improves cholesterol, builds muscle, delivers a full-body workout and encourages its participants to wear lovely Lycra, all at once. What’s not to like?

Anyone can benefit from swimming, whatever your weight, level, aptitude or predilection for tight sportswear. If practised enough, this cardiovascular activity will eventually heave every last bit of fat from your body. You might feel weightless in the water, but every action you make while submerged helps to turn surplus fat into lovely muscle, with the average 70kg human burning more than 400 calories every 60-minute session.

Gym work tends to isolate muscles and muscle groups but swimming works them all at the same time, including the main one: your heart. During a conventional swim it enlarges and becomes more efficient at pumping blood. The broad range of motion required to actually get anywhere means your joints and ligaments not only stay flexible, but they stretch, encouraging flexibility both in and out of the water. And then there’s your abs. If a washboard stomach is your aim, a regular swim should be part of your game.

RECOMMENDED: 5 Key Benefits of Swimming

Unfortunately, swimming is also one of the most unforgiving sports for beginners. Whatever your overall fitness level, if your technique is shoddy, you’ll be completely knackered after a few lengths and it might seem like a bit of waste of time.

Improving on your own is tricky – it’s hard to refine a technique that you’ve probably been using since you were at school. You’re as likely to ingrain errors as iron them out, and any deviation from perfect form will slow you down a huge amount in the water.

Taking swimming lessons, therefore, makes a great deal of sense. In a bid to tweak/completely rebuild a horrendous front crawl technique, Coach took three one-hour lessons with Swimming Nature instructor Sam Hunt at Fitness First Baker Street.

“The majority of the adults I teach want to improve their technique and work on breathing,” says Sam. “A lot can swim quickly, but don’t know how to hold themselves in the water and relax.”

Aside from the swimming quickly part, this is the position Coach was at before the lessons started. Fixing every flaw wasn’t possible in a mere three hours, but at the end of the sessions the basics of breathing were in place – no more keeping our head out of the water at all times – and many bad habits had been identified and were on the way to being eliminated.

Even if there’s not time to master the front crawl, or whatever your aim is going in, being able to speak about what’s needed and practise everything under the keen eye of an expert will make a big difference once you’re swimming solo once again.

Swimming Nature sessions are available at select Fitness First clubs. There’s more info at fitnessfirst.co.uk and swimmingnature.com.

Common mistakes

If you’re flailing away in the water for little reward with your front crawl, make sure you’re not committing these cardinal swimming sins, as described by Sam.

“The most common error I see is head position,” he says. “A lot of the students I see at the start either swim looking straight down or swim with their head up. This affects the body position and can make you slower as the body slightly drops. The best position is somewhere in between.

“Another error I come across is that the arm action is too rushed, leading from the elbow out of the water too early. We teach to fully extend the arm to get more power through the strokes.

“The last error would be the leg kick. This is either way too fast and kicking from the knee or ankle, or stiff and minimal from the hips, which is not doing a lot of good.”

London’s Best Swimming Lessons for Adults

For Phobics

According to the NHS, phobias are defined as an “overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal”. A phobia of water is called aquaphobia. TJ’s Academy of Swimming (formerly the UK Academy Of Swimming) is a centre based in Barnet, north London, that provides specialist classes aimed at helping people conquer their fear. Owner Tiraj Shah explains: “As part of the process, our teachers practise a series of techniques [with the use of aids] which involve the swimmer moving into a horizontal position and then returning to a vertical position both within the depth and out of it.” Group classes (max of four people) are £15 each, private one-to-one sessions are £35. tjsaos.com

For Beginners

According to the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA), one in five people in the UK can’t swim. That’s about nine million people, which is shocking considering we live on an island. Instructor Harley Hicks, 24, says the reasons for this are often rooted in childhood. “Some had bad experiences in the water as kids, others didn’t enjoy it, and some parents didn’t think it was important.”

However, with a new health initiative sweeping through schools, swimming lessons are now being made more fun. This is having a knock-on effect – one of the main reasons adults give for finally taking the plunge is that they want to swim with their kids. It’s never too late to learn, and you can so at the London Aquatics centre where a 14-week ASA-approved course will cost £101.92. londonaquaticscentre.org

For Adults to Improve

A great way to improve your skills is to have an end goal. The Sainsbury’s Swimathon is a nationwide event that has been encouraging people to take on swim challenges while raising money for worthy causes since 1986. You can get involved at over 600 centres. Pool co-ordinator Perri Daniel says, “You can enter by yourself or as part of a team, from a 1.5km swim up to 5km. It depends on your proficiency and how much you want to challenge yourself. We find the team challenges are very popular, because you tend to work harder so you won’t let your team down.” 18th-20th March, swimathon.org

For a Triathlon

A standard (aka Olympic) distance triathlon swim is 1.5km, which equates to 60 lengths of a 25m pool. Triathlon coach Joe Beer says, “Triathlons are not as difficult as they were once perceived, but with the swim section being first it’s important not to burn yourself out. The infrastructure with regards to open-water swimming has improved recently, which makes training a lot easier. Another way to prepare for the cold without even going out is to take some cold baths. But the best advice I can give is to make sure you get a wetsuit that fits properly.”

Strictly Swimming can’t make the water any warmer, but it does offer a range of courses for triathletes of all levels at clubs throughout London. No membership is required, and prices start from £150 for a six-week course. strictly-swimming.com

RECOMMENDED: Alistair Brownlee’s Triathlon Swimming Workout

For Specific Strokes

Advanced swimmers more focused on polishing their technique could do worse than fork out for a few private lessons. Swim For Tri have centres all over London. Director Keeley Bullock says, “The first thing we do with a new client is assess them, then discuss what their aims are. Some very general advice would be to kick from the glutes and hip flexors, and make sure you pay attention to upper-body rotation. We have a range of coaches whose job it is to identify your weaknesses and work on them with you.” Bespoke one-to-one coaching sessions are based in Shoreditch and start from £45 per session. swimfortri.co.uk

London’s Best Swimming Pools

From sunny outdoor lidos to state-of-the-art sports centres via exclusive and luxurious pools, Coach picks five of the best places to swim in London.

Parliament Hill Lido

Open-air and unheated with the UK’s only stainless steel pool liner, Parliament Hill is not for the thin-skinned in the winter months (although it does have a café to warm the cockles). Come summer, its generous 60x28m area begins to look more inviting.

Oasis Sports Centre

At 27.5m, this hidden revelation in Covent Garden is a swimmer’s paradise. Its outdoor parts were refurbished in 2011 and the complex incorporates an indoor pool, open-air heated pool, sun terrace and café that serves good smoothies and ice cream.

Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre

Part of the wider Swiss Cottage regeneration project of 2006, this complex has two big studios, a giant sports hall, a spectacular climbing wall, a gym and an adventure zone for kids. There’s also a magnificent 25m pool as well as a 20m teaching pool.

Central YMCA

One of the largest pools in central London, the 25m YMCA pool adjacent to the St Giles Hotel is far from glam but it’s available to hotel guests for free and non-guests for a very appealing £15 a day. Even when it’s busy, there’s usually still plenty of space to do your thing.

The Berkeley, SW1

The calm, indulgent environs of the five-star hotel provide the setting for many of the capital’s most exclusive pools, a far cry from the freneticism of the cityscape. The Berkeley’s rooftop offering comes at a whopping price for non-guests (£150 per day), but its mosaic-ed iridescence might just be worth it.

The Langham, SW1

If exclusivity at exorbitant prices is your thing, you should also visit The Langham: its 16m basement pool was once an imposing bank vault so for £90 a day, you can admire its stately glory while replaying your favourite heist movie in your head. (The price includes a treatment at the hotel Chuan Spa.)

Because swimming is a sport that requires you to wear less than usual, it’s worth getting the small amount of equipment you do wear right. Browse the gallery above for our latest picks of Speedo goggles, caps and jammers, as well as trunks by Penfield, more jammers by Arena and vests by Matuse.

And below, we pick the best underwater gadgets. Electronics and water – friends at last.

Left to right: Garmin Swim, Garmin Forerunner 920XT

A man should know what he wants and if you’re only interested in swimming, the Garmin Swim more than does the job. Just tell it the length of the pool you’re about to tackle and it’ll happily record distance, stroke count, stroke type, gauge your stroke efficiency and wirelessly upload all relevant data to Garmin Connect for storage and sharing. So there. £130, buy on garmin.com

RECOMMENDED: Benefits of swimming

The Garmin Forerunner 920XT is an ideal companion for running, swimming and cycling. It tracks your sleep and steps, encourages social connectivity and has the option of adding a heart monitor with added accelerometer. It has amazing battery life and may change your fitness patterns forever. £390, buy on garmin.com

RECOMMENDED: Adult Swimming Lessons in London 

This is a godsend if you like working out to music. Once clipped to your cap or goggles, the Finis Neptune transmits audio into your inner ear via bone conduction. With 4GB of storage and an eight-hour battery life, it does the basics well – though you do have to clip the screen to the back of your head, so arrange your tunes before you start. £107.44, buy on amazon.co.uk

RECOMMENDED: Open-Water Swimming

“Fab”, “great”, “useful”, “helpful” – the 450 people who reviewed the Speedo Fit app on the iTunes store have mostly good things to say. Why? It tracks your swims, monitors your progress, sets you challenges, compares your swims with your friends, locates local pools, only requires 43.1MB on your smartphone and is free. And, as we all know, free is good. Free, download on iTunes store

Eddie Hall can swim. Yes, he’s enormous – even bigger close up than he looks when hoisting tractor tyres aloft in the World’s Strongest Man competition – but the real shock comes when you see him glide effortlessly down the pool like a sort of cylindrical shark, leaving us lagging limply behind in his (not insignificant) wake. But why is the Stoke-on-Trent native spending his Monday mornings swimming lengths when he could be lifting weights? We went swimming with him to find out.

That was pretty damn quick. You’ve done this before, right?

Most people don’t know it, but I was actually a national champion swimmer as a kid.

Seriously? How did that come about?

My mum’s a swimming teacher, so I was literally thrown in the pool when I was two years old and left to sink or swim. I joined a local club when I was five, and by the time I was ten I was training 14 hours a week in the water and doing extra physio and gym sessions. I had my own coach and nutritionist and I was on a path to being an Olympic athlete.

That sounds like a pretty serious commitment for a ten-year-old.

It really was. I was treated like a professional athlete – I wasn’t allowed to muck about or lay off the diet, and it was very strict. I won the nationals for the third year in a row when I was 13, and then in my mid-teens I suddenly realised it’d become a job. I didn’t have any kind of social life – my mates were off shagging girls and drinking, and I was stuck in a swimming pool. It was one of those defining moments in your life when you think, “Can I be arsed or can’t I?” In the end I just didn’t want to do it anymore, so I quit.

Did you regret that afterwards?

Yeah, it was actually really tough dealing with it. I’d been at the top of my game as a swimmer for so many years, and then suddenly I had to try and blend into an average lifestyle of going out, drinking, smoking drugs, all the things you do as a teenager. I actually got really depressed and ended up getting kicked out of school – which I’m not proud of. But then I started going to the gym and working out, and I’ve never looked back.

How fast can you swim?

I can still swim 50m in 29 seconds at a push, which is only six seconds off the qualifying time for the Olympics. But for training purposes I do it in 40-50 seconds and repeat that every two minutes.

Like an interval session?

Exactly. Strongman events require 60-second bursts of energy, so all my training is geared towards replicating that. Swimming is great for shoulder mobility, and my heart rate never drops below 150-160bpm, so it gives me a good cardio workout too.

You must get some funny looks in the pool…

Yeah for sure, it’s not every day you see a 28-stone [178kg] bloke swimming in the fast lane.

It’s not every day you see a 28-stone bloke, full stop. Have you always been this big?

It’s a running joke in my family that I’ve always weighed my age, so at five years old I was five stone, at ten years old I was ten stone, at 15 I was 15, and so on. I’ve kept adding a stone a year during my strongman career and now I’m 27 and a half years old and I’m pretty much hitting 28 stone exactly.

That’s insane. How much do you have to eat to maintain that size?

On a good day I eat 10,000-plus calories. On a bad day – if I’m travelling, doing a seminar or an appearance – I’ll get through roughly 6,000-7,000 calories.

You realise for most people the low-calorie days are the good ones, right? What does 10,000 look like?

Today for example, I woke up and drank a litre of smoothie, then had a full English breakfast, followed by a quick fish and chips pub lunch on my way to the pool because I didn’t have time to cook. After we’re done here I’ll pick my daughter up from school and go to McDonald’s. Then after my wife gets home from work I’ll have a second tea, like a curry or a spag bol, and then I’ll just keep snacking and grazing throughout the evening.

That sounds exhausting.

It is!

Isn’t it pretty pricy as well?

Me and the missus worked it out once and it’s easily £250 a week, just for me. It’s basically the cost of a decent mortgage every month, just on my food bill. I’m not a millionaire or anything, but it’s the only way I’ll ever be big enough to progress in my sport, so it’s money well spent.

Why do strongmen need to be so heavy?

Weight moves weight. If you’ve got to pick up a 200kg barbell, it’ll be a lot fucking harder if you weigh 100kg than if you’re 200kg yourself. You need to have that bulk to counterbalance the huge amounts you’re lifting. So in this sport, the heavier you are the better, provided it doesn’t compromise your mobility. I reckon I could get up to 30 stone and still be fit and mobile.

Speaking of picking up enormous weights, there’s a great video on YouTube of Arnold Schwarzenegger cheering you on as you break the deadlift world record. How did that make you feel?

It was pretty cool and definitely one of those defining moments in your career. He’s someone who I looked up to as a kid – I’d say 99% of the people who lift weights got into it because they saw Arnie on TV and wanted to look like him.

He tried to high-five you, but you weren’t having it…

That wasn’t deliberate – I didn’t even realise he was there till after I’d done my celebration. He was a really sound guy though.

You broke the record again the following month by a single kilogram, raising it to 436kg. How high can you actually go?

I want to lift 500kg at some point in my career. But every time I break the record I get paid, and regardless of whether it’s by 1kg, 10kg or 50kg, it’s always the same amount of money, so I’ve got to be clever about it. People might say I should set the record as high as possible now just for the love of the sport, but I’ve got to make a living. If some huge company want to put their name to it and put big money down – like a million quid – I’d happily pull 500kg right now, but there’d have to be a lot in it for me.

How close to that number have you got behind closed doors?

I’ve pulled 480kg comfortably at the gym, without a weight belt or lifting suit, so I’m fairly confident I could do it with a suit on and a big crowd behind me.

Is it difficult to train hard on a full stomach without throwing up?

My gym sessions can last up to three hours, so I need to eat to the point where I feel sick beforehand or I won’t have enough fuel to get through the workout. After a while you just get used to it. To be honest, it’s the least of the problems you have as a strongman.

What are the worst problems?

The training is so tough, even putting a pair of socks on can be difficult some days because you’re that sore and stiff from training your legs the day before. Carrying so much weight is hard on your joints as well – that’s why it’s nice to come to the pool and float around for an hour to take the pressure off them. If I go out shopping with the missus or go for a walk into town, within a mile and a half my hips will be really sore. There’s basically always something hurting, and you just have to accept the fact that you’ll be in constant pain. It becomes a lifestyle.

That can’t be healthy in the long term.

Of course not. I can’t keep eating and training like this forever. Regardless of how much exercise you do or how good your fitness is, it just isn’t healthy to be walking around at 28 stone.

On that note, former World’s Strongest Man competitor Mike Jenkins died in 2013 at the tragically early age of 31. Given all the risks and hardship involved with being a strongman, why do you still do it?

At the end of the day, every sport has risks involved when you’re competing at the highest level and pushing your body to the absolute limit. You see it with swimmers, marathon runners, rugby players – even football’s had players collapse dead on the pitch in recent years. Don’t get my wrong, I’m not gonna keep pushing myself until I fucking die. My plan is to win the World’s Strongest Man, dominate the sport, then walk away from it, like I did with swimming. I want to give back to my family and enjoy my life with them, but first I’ve go to achieve what I set out to do, which is become the best in the world.

Eddie Hall is an ambassador for Protein Dynamix. Thanks to M-Club Spa and Fitness in Stoke

How ripped can you get in the swimming pool? TV presenter Gethin Jones undertook a bespoke six-week swim fitness training programme, written and instructed by Speedo instructor Dan Bullock, as part of the Get Speedo Fit campaign. By the end his VO2 Max had increased 13%, his body fat percentage had dropped 1% and his leg and arm strength had increased by 8%. We caught up with him to find out how he got on.

What made you do the challenge?

It just really appealed to me since it was something I haven’t done for ages, you know I’ve swum as a boy, but I never thought of it as a fitness thing. I was happy to be the guinea pig, and as you’ve probably seen from the results it’s been quite amazing.

Was the first session a shock to your system or did they deliberately start you off easy? 

You know I wasn’t in bad shape when I started and the guys at Speedo knew that too but there were still plenty of giggles on my first session, I’m not going to lie to you. I took a little while to find my feet. We spent two weeks working on techniques. I’d use the pull-bar and that would work on my arms, the paddles would help with my technique and the central snorkel would just align my body.

And how long was it before you felt you were starting to see the results?  

I suppose it’s when I found I could do the 1km sessions! At first they were a serious struggle to finish and then one day they suddenly weren't so bad.

What would a typical session look like?

We'd start with a 200m warm-up and then I'd do a 400m swim wearing hand paddles without kicking and then four 200m swims with fins [flippers], just kicking, to make sure I was working from the hips. Then another 400m with the paddles and another 400m swim with the central snorkel just to make sure the body was aligned. At the end we’d finish with a normal 1km swim to try and incorporate all of those techniques. That was pretty much it for the whole programme. It was became that bit easier and I was becoming more efficient in the water and covering a longer distance. 

Sounds like you spent a lot of time in the water. Did any of your training happen away from the pool? 

There were a few dry-land exercises – I was encouraged to do the plank – but that was really it. 

Do you think you would have been able to get into such good shape if you did just a standard gym routine?

I’m going to be honest and say I don’t really know. I didn’t change my diet massively I definitely had a few drinks and I still ate whatever I ate. When I came back to do the VO2 max I was far more superior in terms of fitness than I was six weeks before without doing any kind of running.

Do you think that with more diet tweaks you could have taken it even further? 

Yeah, totally, but with Speedo it wasn’t like, “make sure you hit the next goal”, it was more, “here’s your nutritionist, please swim four or five times a week on Daniel's instruction”. That’s what I did. I’m not a massive drinker and I do try and eat well anyway... but, you know, there were a couple of pancakes along the way. What surprised me was I did nothing else, I didn’t lift a weight in six weeks but I did put muscle mass on and I did decrease my body fat. What I’m surprised about is muscle because I’m 37 and to put muscle mass on without going to the gym is pretty cool. 

See related

• The Benefits Of Swimming Will Convince You To Dig Out Your Swimming Costume
• Swimming Workouts: Interval and Heart-Rate Sessions for the Pool
• Four Swimming Drills To Enliven Your Time In The Pool

Now you’re finished, how much have you kept up with the swimming?

It hasn’t been the same because of work commitments but that’s the whole point of it. I’ve been on average twice a week but it’s hard to do that with live tapings of Dancing With The Stars [Jones presents Dancing With The Stars: All Access on US TV] every night. I’m actually going to do a QuadRac run in July because that’s a long swim in open water, just to put my skills to test. 

What are you most proud of? 

Probably the muscle mass. A lot of guys will go to the gym and do their biceps for the summer and I feel like I’ve kind of done that in the swimming pool. I think you can really see that in the before and after pictures, it’s quite obvious. Oh, and a tan helps as well – let’s not lie.  

For more information about the Speedo Swim Fitness range go to speedo.co.uk

The coach

Ian Thorpe is Australia’s most successful competitive swimmer, with five Olympic gold medals and 10 from the Commonwealth Games.

The goal

“Now more than ever, the guys and girls you see excelling in the pool are those who put a lot of work in at the gym,” says Thorpe. “The exercises I’ve chosen for this workout are moves I used to do in training, and they genuinely made a massive difference to my performance in the pool. They strengthen key muscles used in swimming, as well as increasing your range of motion for smoother, more efficient strokes.”

The moves

Gym ball roll-out

• Kneel with your elbows and forearms on the ball and your trunk and torso 45˚ to the floor.
• Slowly lean forward into the plank position, rolling the ball forward and bracing your core. Hold for five seconds before slowly returning to the starting position.

Bird dog

• Start on all fours with your knees and palms on the ground.
• Lift one arm and the opposite leg and stretch them away from your body to form a straight line from your hand to your toes. Hold for 30 seconds.

Leg lift

• Lie on a bench on your stomach with your legs extended behind you.
• Raise one leg as high as you can while keeping it as straight as possible.
• Hold this position for 30 seconds.

One-arm medicine ball throw

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor holding a medicine ball in one hand with your arm stretched behind you.
• Throw the ball over your opposite knee.
• Generate the power from your shoulder and try  not to lift your head or pull up with the core.

Mountain climber

• Place your hands on the floor just wider than shoulder-width apart.
• One leg should be straight out behind you and the other should be tucked so your knee is directly beneath your pecs.
• Jump the straight leg forward and the bent leg back so their positions are reversed.

It took some serious organisation to get 1,000 people into the Thames for the start of the Nokia Thames Swim, but fortunately this event proved so smoothly run that there were no problems apart from a bit of splashing. The race started near Hampton Court Palace, with hundreds of us in the water preparing to strike out for Kingston-upon-Thames, 3.6km downstream. In case 'downstream' makes it sound easy, I was informed beforehand that the speed of the current was only eight metres an hour.

Even if the river wouldn't oblige by doing all the hard work for me, the water was a pleasant 22˚C and visibility was excellent. I've done a few triathlons with an open water swim and usually found that the field stretches out quickly – this race was no different. My strategy was to keep in the middle, letting the good swimmers - including Olympic medallist Keri-Anne Payne, who was swimming but not technically racing - go on their way but staying ahead of the slowcoaches who looked like they'd take longer than me. This successfully kept me out of the way of any flying arms at the start.

Obeying instructions, I stayed on the left-hand side of the river within easy reach of the bank - in fact I occasionally found myself touching the river bed with my hands. It was hugely enjoyable to swim along the great waterway, with the leafy scenery of Surrey and southwest London slipping past. The only thing I regret was not wearing a watch because, with the exception of a halfway buoy, there were no distance markers so I had no way of knowing how far I'd come. I had worn one at the previous weekend's Dextro London Triathlon and found that being able to see the time gave me a rough but useful indication of my progress.
 
I finished in 1hr 21min, which I felt pretty pleased with until I learned that out of 933 finishers I came 702nd. I can't believe so many hundreds finished ahead of me. I obviously need to do some speed drills before my next open water swim.

For more tales of fitness daring-do, subscribe to the magazine. We'll give you five issues for £5.

Swimming in a straight line in open water is not easy. I realised this at last year's Men's Fitness Rough Track Triathlon (my first triathlon), when after the first 100m of the swim stage I found myself swimming at a 90˚ angle to everyone else in my heat. The result, rather unsurprisingly, was that I was one of the last out of the water and then had to almost kill myself to finish in a respectable position.
 
In August this year, I'm entering the London Triathlon and am desperate not repeat this costly cock-up so I've been seeking professional advice about how to improve my aquatic performance. Triathlon books, including MF's Complete Guide To Running, Cycling and Swimming, have been useful but I always find the most helpful advice is hands-on coaching. So when I was invited to an open water swim and bike media session with former world champion triathlete Richard Stannard last week, which was being put on by Nokia to celebrate their upcoming Outdoor Series (The Windsor Triathlon, Thames Swim, Coast to Coast Challenge and the Royal Parks Half Marathon), I leapt at the chance.
 
I met Stannard at Westhorpe Watersports Centre, near Little Marlow in Buckinghamshire, where he runs regular open water swimming coaching sessions. The man-made lakes here are clean and scenic and, crucially, big enough to do an Olympic tri distance lap (1,500m). And because Stannard had hired it we didn't have to share it with the wakeboarders or jetskiers who also use the lake – just a few bemused geese.

At 20˚C the water wasn’t cold, although that’s cold enough to have a bit of bite, but to replicate what we'd do during a race we swam in tri suits. Stannard started the session by getting me to swim out to a buoy 100m from the lake's jetty so he could appraise my form. I sometimes forget that swimming uses your muscles in a different way than almost any other kind of exercise and although I started powerfully, 20 strokes in I was moving at the same pace as a doggy-paddling toddler. However, speed wasn't my main problem – if I interrupted my stroke to look ahead of me, I could swim in the right direction, but it slowed me down further. Worse still, I ended up swallowing mouthfuls of lake water as I struggled to breathe and look at the same time, which made me feel as if I was going to sink. If I concentrated on my stroke and tried to guess the direction I veered off-course. So what could I do to fix it?
 
'You need to sight or look forward after every second stroke,' Stannard told me when I eventually arrived back at the jetty. 'And do it in a way that doesn't cause you to start moving like a dying fish.' He dived into the lake to show me how. 'When you pull your head out of the water, lift it up first to see what's ahead of you, then to the side to take a breath.' I watched him do it, his eyes barely breaking the surface as he looked forward, then turned his head to the left to breathe. It's seamless – if you weren't looking out for his sighting, you wouldn't notice it.
 
'Push your hands out behind you more at the end of each stroke,' he added. 'It's free power: you'll really notice a difference in the speed you start to move at and distance you cover with each stroke.'

I took on board what he said and set off for another buoy, this time one that was 200m away. Worried that altering my stroke and my sighting was going to be too much for me to cope with in one hit, I started by following Stannard's sighting pointers. It was an immediate success. I didn't even have to get a good look at what's ahead of me to stay on target – blurs and shapes were enough. 'All you have to do is pick something big that sticks out against the skyline – seeing the details doesn't matter a bit,' Stannard explained as he paddled along next to me.
 
Next I tried altering my paddling, pushing my hands behind me for that ‘free power’. It was another instant win. I felt more streamlined and powerful and that I was covering a extra metre or so with each stroke. As I reached the buoy and got ready to turn back, I tried to put both techniques into practice. It was a disaster. If I concentrated on stroking properly, my sighting went haywire. If I focused on sighting I only pushed my hands halfway down my body before pulling them out for the next stroke.
 
'There isn't an instant fix for doing them together – you just need to practise,' explained Stannard. 'At the start of the season I'm a bit ropey too. When I'm in the thick of race season, my stroke is powerful and I'm only sighting every ten or so strokes because my spatial awareness in the water becomes so good.'

After only one session I'm already twice the swimmer I was before – but I'm still a long way off being happy with my technique. But given that Stannard runs training sessions at Westhorpe and at Datchet in Slough several times a week, there's no reason I can't transform into a open water beast by the time the klaxon sounds at the London Triathlon.

To find out more about and sign-up for some of the events in the Nokia Outdoor Series, check out nokiaoutdoorseries.co.uk.

For loads more triathlon training tips and gear guides, subscribe to the Men's Fitness. We'll give you five issues for £5.

Pick your spot
'If you're not confident swimming in a pack, then aim to start at the side of the pack but not at the back,' says Karl Jackson, triathlon coach at multisport event company 3xTri. 'If you're at the back you'll have to swim through all the competitors who swim breaststroke, which is an easy way to receive a kick to the head.'
 
Swim 100m at a time
'Try to think only about the first 100m on the start line,' says Richard Allen, a former British triathlon champion who is now a triathlon coach. 'Don't get drawn into a sprint or you'll get into massive oxygen debt, stop breathing properly and risk a panic attack. Start with caution and build your pace over the next 100m.'
 
Get your eye in
'Sight above the water quickly and regularly, every 12-20 strokes,' says Ben Bright, who coaches Olympic triathlete and British champion Hollie Avil. 'Try pool swimming with your eyes closed without hitting the lane ropes. You'll improve over time and this will make you a faster open-water swimmer because you won't have to sight so often.'
 
Kick less
'Kicking makes up about five per cent of propulsion in a novice athlete, so a fast kick uses up a lot of energy for little benefit,' says Karl Jackson. 'Keep your toes pointed and kick gently from the hip to help keep your balance in the water. Then kick more in the last 100m so your legs are ready for action when you get on your bike.'

Take the hit
'If you get hit, keep swimming,' says Ben Bright. 'The natural reaction is to stop and put your head up but then you become a target and people swim over the top, dunking you. Use a breathing pattern and pace that allows you to comfortably miss a breath and catch up on the next one.'
 
Smart draft
'Drafting can save 20 per cent of your swim energy but don't swim close on the feet of the swimmer in front because you may get a kick to the head as you accelerate or they slow,' says Karl Jackson. 'Find somebody swimming a little faster than you and swim to the side of them level with their hip.'
 
Turn like a kayak
'To go around a buoy, shorten your stroke on the buoy side,' says triathlon coach Simon Ward. 'So if you're turning left shorten your left stroke and do a few more strokes with your right, as if you were turning a kayak.'

Want more expert triathlon advice? Then subscribe to Men's Fitness magazine, we'll give you five issues for £5!

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